Optimism or Futility?
by TheDoctor1423
Summary: Kagome is starting college and she is on her own. She has a few secrets though and her past starts to haunt her. Naraku is head of a secret organization that her fathers company tried to take down. Her father left her something, will it help? IK MS
1. Silence

**Disclaimer**- I did not create Inuyasha or any of those characters, but wouldn't it be cool if I did?

She's awoken by the sounds of laughter. Her mom is making her prize-winning pancakes, just about the only thing that could get her out of the warm blankets that enveloped her body. The sun peeks through the curtains as a light breeze makes them dance. She snuggles further into her cozy bed and yawns.

The birds sing there song to the girl but they can't compete with the pitter-patter of her little brothers feet as he tries, poorly, to sneak into her room.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" He shrieks and jumps onto his sister's bed.

The shriek was followed by small arms wrapping around her body. More laughter continues, mixing in with the bird's song, the creek of the wooden floors and the breeze that twinkles the wind chimes outside.

At least that's what should have happened had it not been for that fateful night that took everything from her. The laughter was no longer there, and neither were the wind chimes. Even the birds were silent this morning.

And so it was to silence that the girl awoke to. That was all that was left. The silence. And it greeted her with a heavy heart.

She wiped the sleepiness from her eyes and stretched from her uncomfortable position on the floor. Her black hair tumbled in loss curls mid-way down her back. Her brown eyes were beautiful yet sad.

Checking her watch, she realizes that she still has a good two hours before work. She looks around the room with dead eyes.

_Maybe I should tidy up a bit today _she laughs to herself and walks out of the barren living room and enters the kitchen.

Where furniture should have been, there was nothing; same goes for the kitchen table and chairs. Not to mention the refrigerator. But then again, who needs any of that stuff, they're just luxuries.

The cabinet contained one cup, a pot, and a plate. Her silverware was just as scarce as her dinnerware, consisting of a knife, spoon, and a fork. The pot was filled with water and placed on the stove to boil. Another cabinet was richly filled with ramen, mac & cheese, stuffing, basically anything that can be cooked with just water and a pot. Today's breakfast would be ramen.

Luckily fruit was cheap and the girl munched on an apple as she watched the water come to a boil.

After finishing her ramen and cleaning up-just because you don't have anything, it doesn't give you any reason to be dirty- the girl took a shower and brushed her teeth.

Upon her return to the living room, the girl walked to the only part of the room that contained anything. She never bothered to go into any other rooms, they were all bare.

She looked down at two little boxes on the floor. Said boxes contained a few articles of clothing, one for clean and one for dirty. She picked up her work uniform: a pair of faded blue jeans with a few holes, a dark green long sleeved shirt and an apron. She hastily got dresses and put her hair up in a bun.

She didn't bother to look in the mirror before she left, not because she didn't care what she looked like (because she did, just not in a vain way. Quite the opposite really) but because she did not own a mirror. Not anymore anyways. That was sold many months ago…

_A girl stood outside her home. She was the same girl, only a year younger. She greeted people as they came to her house. Many people were suspicious but then again many people just didn't care._

"_Oh yes, everything is for sale." The 16 year old girl chirped happily, "That's right, my… Uncle and I are moving to America. He got a big promotion and our new house is already being set up. We have no need for our old things."_

_And if anyone noticed that she hesitated when she mentioned her uncle, or how odd it was that this girl was selling everything by herself, no one commented. And so, being a natural at persuading people, she managed to sell everything, except a few necessities. It also help that she exuded a certain charm and confidence._

The same girl, now 17 going on 18 in just a few weeks time, was on her way out the door. She had a little extra time and so she thought she might as well take the longer way to work. Her decision was not at all swayed because of a certain little kitsune that happened to be on that path.

Feeling rather happy today, which is quite unlike her despite the fact that she tries to be optimistic, she hummed a little song on her way to work. She had a little secret, many actually, but this one isn't as big as the others: in order to be happy, she just doesn't dwell on the unhappy things. It took her awhile to be able to accomplish that, but then again she didn't have anything that wasn't unhappy about her life not too long ago. And when there are only unhappy things, it's quite hard to find something else to keep your mind distracted with.

The girl heard shouting in a house down the street. It wasn't that loud, but she had really good hearing. She knew which house it was coming from. It was a small house like hers, which was technically her uncles, but this house looked dirty. The paint was peeling off, cardboard was taped over broken windows and there was glass, beer bottles and garbage lying all over the little porch outside. A small child with a big tail was sitting on the steps leading up to the porch. He was sniffling.

"Shippo!" The girl cried and ran the distance between the two. She was considerably fast.

At the sound of his name and the familiar voice, the young fox demon picked up his head and immediately his eyes brightened and a huge smile replaced the sad frown on his face.

"Kagome, you're here!"

Kagome picked up Shippo and gave him a big hug. She continued to hold him in her arms, a worried expression on her face.

"Is everything okay Shippo? Are they fighting again?" The kitsune nodded his head and took a peek at the house behind him.

"Can we go to the park today?" He snuggled into the girl. Her scent always seemed to calm him. It was a strange scent, he'd never smelt it before, but strange in a good way.

Kagome shook her head sadly, she hated leaving him here but she had to go to work. She tried to take her little fox demon away from his house as often as possible. She knew he hated it there. His parents always fought and threw things at each other. They neglected him and treated him like gum off the bottom of their shoes. They would often kick him out of the house for no reason. Despite this, Kagome could not report them. She knew that they never actually hit him before and therefore no one would believe a girl over the two adults. If they ever did though, they would have hell to pay.

"I have work, my little fox." She stroked his hair and tried to calm him down. Even though she was only 17, she couldn't help but feel so bonded to this little demon. He was like a son to her. She had been taking care of him for three years now, when he was only two. He was the only thing that kept her from breaking down after that horrible night all those years ago. It's like she was fated to find him…

_A girl cried under her bed. She was so scared but she had to be quiet. She had heard her mom on the phone downstairs with her dad. She was scared and he was telling her it was going to be all right. He was on his way home. She just had to make sure the kids were safe and hide until he got there. The police were on their way. _

_Her mom had dashed upstairs and told her to hide and be quite. She only went down the hall to her little brother's room. She was trembling with fear and she felt like she should do something. She wanted to know what was going on and she didn't think being separated from her mom was a good idea. They should stick together. Besides, she was fourteen after all! She shouldn't be scared like this! _

_She heard her mom scream and her heart raced. She ran out of her room and sprinted down the hall. The door to her little brother's room was open. She came to a halt just outside. Her mother was trying to protect her little brother. A huge demon stood before her, claws extended and dripping some kind of venom. She hadn't even heard him come in! He snarled at her mother and attacked, ignoring the high-pitched shriek and the pink aura that engulfed the room._

_She was crying and she was mad. She knew the pink aura was from her miko powers, but she wasn't trained very well with them. Her mom had said that they were still growing and too unstable. She had a hard enough time figuring out that her daughter even had miko powers, and was confused as to where they came from. Luckily, they had a family friend, Kaede, who helped to train the girl to contain the powers because whenever she was young and would throw a temper tantrum, objects would fly across the room. _

_The demon sunk his claws into her mother and he gave out a shriek. Every inch of his body felt as if it were ablaze. He quickly finished the mother and pushed her aside. He then scratched hastily at the young boy. He had to complete the mission or hope that he died because the punishment for failure would be much worse than death._

_Kagome ran after the demon and pounded her fists against his back screaming for him to stop. Every blow she did left a large bleeding gash on the demons back. When she heard her brother scream, she screamed louder, closed her eyes, and put all of her effort into her attack. Suddenly there was nothing left to hit and she felt drained she opened her eyes and saw that the demon was ash at her feet, purified by her powers._

_She gasped for air as she looked at her mother and brother. Tears clouded her vision as she realized that they were gone. She ran down the stairs and out the doors. She wasn't sure where her father was. Why wasn't he here to protect them? She ran as fast as her feet would carry her: down this street, left onto an alley, through some trees, across another street, right, left, through there. _

_Then she stopped. She wasn't sure where she was. She heard someone crying. She didn't know what to do. She stopped thinking about everything and just let her instincts guide her. Soon she found the source of the crying: a young child with a long tail. She knelt down beside him and asked what was wrong. He looked up at her with puffy, scared eyes. He looked so young! Before she knew it, she was holding him in her arms and comforting him. She didn't know why, it just made her feel better. Soon she was crying too and they held each other…_

"Can't I go to work with you?" Shippo's voice broke her out of her trance and she realized that her eyes had begun to fill up with tears, "What's wrong?"

"I just missed you lots." She said as she smiled and wiped back the tears, "But you know I'm not allowed to bring you, otherwise I would. I promise to stop by after work though and read you a bed time story, okay? Just remember to keep your window unlocked."

The kitsune was delighted by the thought and smiled excitedly. They said there goodbye's and she started heading back to work, sad about the past but excited about the future.

A/N- How did you like it? I usually only read fanfics, this is my first attempt at writing something. But I figured I'd give it a shot. It's a lot of fun though, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself! I hope other people are too. If you want to find out about what happened to her dad and why someone killed her family, you'll just have to review and tell me what you think so far! Any suggestions? Compliments? Hopefully no one will be mean…


	2. Looking Ahead

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Inuyasha, kagome, shippo, or any of the inu gang…

She entered through the back door when she reached her destination: a four-star restaurant. She was always grateful for her job and it paid well. She was one of the top chefs there, which is only to be expected because she started to learn how to cook at such a young age. Her mom use to be the head cook and she started bringing her daughter to work with her in order to teach her how to cook. The workers there were always like family to Kagome and, after the tragic incident with her family, they gladly took her in.

_Thanks to this job I have more than enough money saved up._ Kagome smiled at her plans and clocked in. She walked further down the dark narrow hallway and entered the kitchen.

Everyone was bustling about. Cooks would shout for ingredients and helpers retrieved them from the storage or coolers. Her boss spotted her and waved her over. She made her way to an empty working space that her boss was standing next to.

"Kagome! That soup you made got outstanding reviews; it's our best seller!" Her boss gleamed at her.

Kagome smiled and listened as her boss rambled on. Half paying attention, she started to set up her work area. She heard something about 'her share' and the thought of getting some extra money eased a few of her worries, despite the money she already had hidden away.

"Hey Kags." A husky voice started her out of her thoughts, causing her to drop a cast iron pan on her toe.

"Kouga!" she exclaimed as she picked up the pan and wrinkled her nose into a pout as she felt the throbbing in her toe, "You startled me."

"You make the cutest faces when you are upset." The wolf demon chuckled. His long black hair was up in its pony tail with a sweat band on his head, as per usual "We should catch a movie sometime, we haven't hung out in awhile."

"What do you mean? We just went to that park two days ago." She rolled her eyes at his antics and he began to whine.

"Buuut kags… don't you like hanging out with me?" He put on a sad face and his tail hang between his legs.

She hated to see him sad, even if she knew he was just teasing. Kouga was her closest friend but sometimes they just didn't see things eye to eye. For one, Kouga has had a crush on Kagome sense he first laid eyes on her. However, Kagome could never see the two of them ending up together. She just saw him as more of a brother figure and people just can't control their feelings. But if she could, she would have definitely fallen in love with him, it would have made him so happy. The fact still remained though: She didn't have romantic feelings towards him.

Despite the numerous times she had explained how she felt, he just wouldn't accept it.

"It's just that I have to get ready, you know that."

"I guess…" He sighed dramatically but gave a little smirk so she would smile, "We'll have to make plans soon though, you are my women and I should get to spend time with you."

"Kouga, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not, nor will I ever be-" she was cut off as her boss gave them their orders and they hastened to make the meals.

--

Overall the day wasn't so bad. She didn't have any meals sent back and the kitchen radio was working today. She enjoyed singing to herself; however she was so into one of the songs that she spilt her whole pot of soup on herself and all over the floor. It was only one accident today though. She could be quite the klutz sometimes, except for when she's training.

She made her way to Shippo's house, as promised. It was a chilly night and the moon was nowhere in sight due to the many clouds that were casting dark shadows over the town. It was already past ten and she wasn't even sure if Shippo would still be awake.

She turned a corner and saw the house at the end of the street. She could hear a faint scream coming from that way. She sped up her pace and stopped in front of the house. She heard clatters and screams, the loud bangs of pots being thrown about and the occasional shattering of glass. At first she thought it was his mom and dad arguing again, but this time she didn't hear two-way shouting, just the mom and a soft crying noise.

She quickly realized what must be happening and ran inside.

"Who de 'ell do you sink you are?! You baserd. Isall you fault. E lef because a you. Tha diry whore wit him." Her eyes were bloodshot and she held a beer in one hand while many more scattered the ground. Her long red hair was matted and her clothes were disgusting and ripped. She chugged down her beer, missing her mouth and sloshing half of it down her shirt, and threw the bottle towards a little mass of red across the room.

Kagome ran towards the little red mass and caught the bottle before it could hit him. She was pissed and her pink aura started to surround her hands. She slowly walked over to Shippo's abuser, a low growl in her throat.

The abuser, for there was no right to call her his mom anymore, widened her eyes in surprise.

"Ou ze phhuuck are you?" she narrowed her eyes as her body swayed from side to side.

Kagome didn't even waste her breath on the lowlife in front of her. She just kept walking slowly toward her. She heard a whimper from behind her and the pink aura spread up her arms and darkened. If anyone bothered to look closer, they would be baffled by the blackness that was just at the edges of the dark pink and how Kagome's eyes looked very dark brown, even black.

The lack of response scared the abuser even more as _it_ took a step backwards. It looked around the floor and picked up another beer bottle, jabbing it forward towards the approaching girl.

_I wish I had sharp claws to extend right now, just like father._ With that thought, she closed the distance between the two of them in one jump. As she came down she extended her arms toward it, hands flat out, and focused her energy into them. The whole room lit up, highlighting the filth that was in front of her and the mess that surrounded her.

She landed nimbly on the balls of her toes as it fell lifeless onto the floor. She held back and didn't kill her though, and that was the best favor she could have done. She didn't like killing, even if she really did deserve death. Maybe her life would be a depressing one. That was all she could hope for.

A whimper was heard from behind her and the pink aura went away. She turned around, her now chocolate brown eyes filled with concern. She cautiously moved the red mass to reveal a little face with blood running down from various cuts. A huge bump was on his head and his arm looked like it was bent in a discomforting way.

"Ka-gome?" Shippo's eyes opened momentarily before closing again as he fell unconscious.

She gently picked him up and whispered comforting words of endearment, even though she knew he couldn't hear. She ran quickly to her house, making sure not to jostle the little bundle in her arms.

--

She stayed up all night. Shippo's wounds were thoroughly cleaned and bandaged. His arm was broken and he had cuts ranging from deep gashes to little grazes. She knew they would heal quickly though, because he was a demon, but she still paced around the house and cleaned everything relentlessly as she waited for him to wake up. She knew he would sleep for quite some time while his body healed itself.

There wasn't much to clean and she figured that she had tortured the sponge enough. She rinsed it out and put it back in the box. She gathered up all of her remaining possessions, which wasn't that much, and put them into another box. She picked up a letter on the table and read it for the hundredth time. She already had it memorized, along with the other two letters that were next to it.

She glanced worriedly as her little Shippo turned onto his side and gave out a grunt. She wished she had a bed for him. She made a mental note to buy him one before she moved into the new house. She opened up the cupboards and made sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

The phone rang.

Kagome looked at it and turned her head slightly, she hadn't heard the phone ring in quite some time. To be honest, she was surprised that it was still working.

It rang again and Kagome went to answer it.

"Hello?" The voice that answered sounded kind. She asked who she was. "I'm Kagome…. No my uncle is away right now, can I help you…? Well actually he won't be coming back…. Yes, you see he got promoted and we are moving to America… Yes, that's right."

The lady on the phone just called to inform her that the rent was late, they tried to take it out of the bank account, as usual, but there wasn't enough money in it. She told Kagome that her uncle should have informed her that he would be leaving so that they could try to sell the house. Kagome apologized and the lady said it wasn't her fault, but to tell her Uncle he can't just up and leave things like that.

The lady sighed and said she would handle it. Kagome let her know that she was actually leaving today. She told her to tell her uncle that he has to switch over all of the bills and make a change of address, or his credit will go bad and he won't be getting his mail. Kagome thanked her, said she would leave the key in the mail box, and hung up.

She hadn't thought about telling anyone that she was leaving. She didn't really care about his credit, she was wondering when it would be used up. He must have had quite a bit of money because the rent, phone, water and electricity bills had all been paid for until now. Then again, he was a drug dealer so she wasn't surprised. She was lucky that he was lazy and had everything taken out directly from his bank account.

She wasn't really worried about people looking for her uncle, or if they would trace him to her. If the time came that they started to look for him and came asking her questions, she would just tell them that she moved out when she was eighteen, which was true enough. The last she saw him, he was on his way to America and she had refused to go. Well, the last part wasn't true but no one is perfect.

It was a good thing she called though; she would have to get her address changed and register as independent now. She looked at Shippo and realized a few problems. She would have to make quite a few stops today.

--

She had locked the house and left Shippo a note and some mac & cheese just in case he woke up before she came back. She had taken the bus and changed her address. She called her new landlord from a pay phone and he said it would be fine if she moved in today. She had to ask for a lot of help to figure out how to get a phone company and how to pay for that, electricity and water. She asked if there was anything else she needed. Everyone was pretty patient with her, after all she was young and it was her first time on her own.

She made one last stop before she was dropped off a block or two away from Shippo's old house. With papers in hand, she made her way to the house and up the steps. She contemplated on whether or not she should knock.

Deciding that she should try and be reasonable today, she knocked.

She knocked again, this time a little louder. She heard clanking inside the house as someone walked to the door. She looked through the peep hole and yelled that she should leave before she called the cops.

"If you were going to call the cops, you would have when you first woke up. You didn't because you know I could just tell them how you treated your son last night." Kagome calmly informed the thing inside, "And if you do not sign these papers, I will call the police"

Kagome had thought about calling the police already. If she had to she would, but she would rather not. It would take a lot longer and she would end up missing a lot of her classes. They would probable snoop into her life too, which she couldn't allow to happen.

The door creaked open a little and someone took a few steps back. Kagome opened the door the rest of the way and entered the house. There were some boxes packed and unpacked all around the house.

"Moving now are we?" Kagome surveyed the room, showed her the papers and handed her a pen, "Just sign the papers and you will never see me or Shippo again."

The thing, which still had not showered and stunk even from over there, walked over and reached out a shaking hand to take the pen. She looked over the adoption papers and signed in all the appropriate spots.

--

She walked into the house and noticed that Shippo was still asleep. It was dark out now and she walked over to check his wounds. Everything was healed except for his arm, but even that looked a lot better. She was glad that she had kept the sling that she had to buy for herself not too long ago; at least it would keep his arm in place so that it could heal properly. She looked down sadly as she remembered why she needed that sling…

"_I thought I told you to clean this mess!" A tall man with a shaven head entered the room, his red eyes ablaze._

_The room looked like Kagome's living room but not empty. It was of average size with wood paneling. A small glass coffee table sat in between a large screen T.V. and a large brown sofa. There was an expensive looking rug on the floor and two end tables, with a light on each one, placed on opposite sides of the couch._

_The girl surveyed the immaculate room and sighed. She knew what was coming. It was just a good thing that Kaede had taken her in for training; otherwise she wouldn't have the control to not hurt him. He was mean a lot but she just couldn't bring herself to hurt him._

"_I cleaned the whole house." Kagome looked down at her feet, afraid to look up at her father's half brother. She wondered if that made him her half Uncle? She supposed so._

"_Stop lying you bitch. You are such a fucking slut, you probably were out all day trying to earn a couple extra bucks." She could smell the alcohol and drugs on him as he took a step closer to her. She tensed _

_and waited. He hit her a lot, but it was never that serious, just a bruise here and there followed by the occasional cut. She knew it could be a lot worse, seeing as he was a full demon._

_He hit her harder than normal and knocked her against the wall. Her head cracked against the paneling and her vision blurred for a second. She looked up at him and glared._

"_That's a bit redundant, don't you think? A _fucking _slut?" She quickly widened her eyes and bit her tongue. She couldn't help it, it just came out._

_Of course she had been home cleaning, just like every day she didn't either work, go to school, or train with Kaede. She barley even had any friends, she didn't have time for them. There was just her work friend, Kouga. _

"_I don't even know why I let you live here! I never liked your half-breed father, no one did. I only wish I could have killed that abomination." Kagome tried to control her powers and kept the tears in as he continued, "That was fathers' biggest mistake, screwing that human bitch and having him. My father got what he deserved for doing that, as did your father. But that half-breed just had to go off and marry that human bitch and have you first! I only wish I could have killed him before he decided to make you. You are a disgrace to everything, a bigger abomination then a half breed. You don't even fit in with miko's, having that little bit of demon blood running through your veins. And that disgusting scent! You don't even fit in with the abominations! Your filth and you deserve what happened to your precious family. And I'm going to do the world a big favor and take you away from it."_

_Kagome watched as he extended his claws and came closer. She heard the drip drip as the acid-like liquid started to ooze from his claws and onto the floor, ending with a hiss. She was furious now. How dare he say such things about her family, about her. She hated the very core of his being and it started to show. A pink aura started to engulf her hands, and she let it. In fact, she embraced it as it started to run up her arms. She snarled back at him and stood up into a crouching position._

_Her uncle narrowed his eyes as he saw the pink. He looked closer and saw the edges tainted with black. It made him even madder as he charged her. She was fast, and she avoided his attack. He knew she would have some demon abilities, but they weren't as good as his. He followed her and noticed that her whole body was glowing now. He grabbed her arm and threw her into a wall. There was a loud bang and a nasty cracking noise. _

_Kagome looked up at her uncle, not really feeling the impact. She supposed it was the adrenaline rushing through her and she got up. She saw him baffled as he looked at his hand that was now badly burned and bubbling. She took advantage of his momentary confusion and gathered up her energy and focused it all into her hands. The pink aura stared to disappear from her head and feet, as if it were fire being put out, and soon only her hands glowed. Her hands were covered in an intense pink aura that was three times greater than the size of her actual hand. She charged him and punched his as hard as she could across the face. It left a big gash on the side of his face, and you could clearly see the bones from his jaw. _

_He was caught off guard as he felt the intense pain in his jaw. He looked up in time to see another fist clash with the other side of his head. The pain was unimaginable; he could feel the rest of his body in just as much pain just for being in close proximity to the pink light. He crumbled onto his knees and looked at his niece. He hadn't expected this from her. She was _weak_. Not a demon or even a full miko. He thought her eyes were black when he looked into them, and then he saw nothing._

_Kagome stared down at her uncle's charred body. She focused her energy and sent it sweeping over the body, purifying the remains and leaving no evidence. She sat down on the floor and the pink aura was gone. Tears started to fall from her cheeks. She didn't know why she cried for him, but she just couldn't help it. Soon she felt a pain in her arm and noticed how bad it looked. She tenderly touched it and realized that it must be broken. She knew she healed better than an average human, but it would take awhile for this to heal properly. She gingerly stood up and walked over to the bathroom. Her hair was a mess and she had some blood trickling from her mouth but overall she didn't look that bad. _

_She brushed her hair with her good hand and washed off the blood before getting some money from her secret stash and heading towards the nearest store to get something for her arm…_

Tears started to cloud her vision and she looked down at her sleeping fox and made sure that the sling was still in place. She walked over to the untouched note, threw it away and ate his mac & cheese.

"Sorry Shippo but your bed will have to wait until tomorrow, I'm exhausted." She washed the bowl and put it in a box. She looked at the three boxes on the ground and then at Shippo. Her new apartment wasn't that far, but she surely couldn't carry everything. She decided to take the boxes first.

"I'll be right back." She kissed his forehead, stacked the three boxes and picked them up. She ran out the door, making sure to lock it, and ran down the street. It only took her fifteen minutes to get there when she ran. She stopped in front of an apartment building. The building had white paneling and there were three identical grey doors to the not-so-big house. She took the furthest one to the left and unlocked it.

She walked in the room, which had white walls and white carpeting. It was small and there were only two doors to her left. She knew that one would be the only bedroom and the other would be the bathroom. In four steps she crossed the living room. The living room carpet ended and white tiles started, signaling the beginning of the tiny kitchen. She put the boxes down and looked around her place. It wasn't much, but it was _hers_.

A/N- Guess what? Next chapter she gets to go to college and meet our favorite hanyou! Maybe you'll discover a few more secrets about this strange miko too. You'll just have to wait and find out.

PLEASE REVIEW! I don't want to beg, but I will if I must. Reviews really help boast my confidence and give me the urge to write, so I'll update faster.

Today is the first day of classes; I go to college at Penn State. My next class is actually in ten minutes so I have to be going. Don't forget to review! I spend a lot of time writing this and the least you could do is put a smile on my face with your reviews! –hint hint


	3. The First Day

Disclaimer: I own many things, Inuyasha just happens to be one of the things that does not belong in that category.

Kagome awoke in the living room. The carpeting was a nice change from the wooden floor. She felt something warm on her side and looked down to see Shippo curled up and grabbing onto her shirt. She was happy to see that he used both of his arms.

She had made a make shift bed out of her clothes for Shippo, being the only thing she had. The bed lay a few feet away from her, forgotten. She yawned as she stood up and tried not to disturb Shippo.

She walked into the bathroom and tried to make herself look decent, she decided her classmates would be happier if she showered and so she commenced with the showering.

Half way through the shower she gasped, taking in some water and choking. She turned off the water and jumped out of the shower. In her sleepy state, she forgot a towel and so she just put on her old clothes.

Today was her first day of classes. She had completely forgotten. She was lucky and managed to get all morning classes, but she hadn't bought any of her books yet.

She fished through her clothes and found a decent pair of jeans and a shirt that wasn't to old looking. She quickly changed and fished out her book bag. Her first class was at eight and she was afraid that she had missed it.

She looked at her watch and realized that it was only 6:30. She sighed at her stupidity. Why didn't she just check the time first? Preferable BEFORE the freak out.

She decided she should make breakfast. She hadn't planned on having someone else staying with her and she realized that she would be gone must of the day and some nights, due to work.

She opened up another box and searched for something to eat. She would have to start buying some actual food. She knew Shippo loved Ramen, she used to bring him food all the time and that was always his favorite. His real mother rarely had any food in the house that she let Shippo near. Kagome thought of everything she did for the kit and how much time she spent with him. She realized that she had actually been taking care of the little kit for quite some time. It would just be more convenient for her now that he lived with her. And a lot happier on both their parts.

She got out the ramen and started to boil the water, going about the usual routines of making it.

It was a good thing that the apartment came with a refrigerator. She had sold her uncle's, along with his big screen T.V. and all of his other expensive items he got from drug deals. It earned her quite a bit and she hadn't spent any of it yet. She also had a bonus coming in her next paycheck because of the soup. Overall she knew she would have extra money, even after her books. Enough to spend some of it on her new… son? Technically she was his adopted mother now. She got butterflies in her stomach thinking about it.

She was lucky enough to get many scholarships and grants to pay her tuition so she didn't have to take out any loans. Instead, she was getting a check for 850 in the mail within the month. (A/N: that is actually what happened to me, so I'm just stealing the idea from myself) However, she still had many more years of school to go through and she would need to save some money in case she wasn't as lucky next year.

Kagome was glad that she enjoyed learning. It was the only thing that got her through everything that happened. She just dived into her studies and managed to graduate early. She even took a few special honors programs that counted as college credits. (A/N- we can do that in my high school, I'm not sure if it's like that in all schools)

She was nervous that she wouldn't be starting as a freshman. Because of the college credits she already took and how well she did on her placement tests, she would be starting in 200 level classes instead of 100 level classes, basically skipping the freshmen year. She was nervous that people would expect greater things of her now and make fun of her when she asked questions.

She heard Shippo yawn in the living room. She turned off the stove and poured two bowls of ramen, setting them aside to cool.

"Good morning Shippo." Kagome walked into the living room, she was worried about Shippo's reaction to this big change. She knew he didn't want to live with his mom but it was so much to take in at such a young age. His whole life would be different now.

"'Morning." He used his little paw-like hands to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He looked around the empty room for a little, taking it all in. His nose twitched a bit and he stood up, "I smell something delicious!"

Kagome smiled and got his food for him, warning him that it was still hot. Despite that, the little demon devoured it and handed back the bowl. Kagome laughed at him before her expression turned serious.

"Shippo, how are you feeling today? Is your arm alright?" She kneeled down so that she was at eye-level with the fox demon.

Shippo stretched his arms and his legs. He bent in funny positions and then stood up again.

"I feel great! Am I going to be living with you now?"

"It's all up to you, Shippo. I would love to have you stay with me if that's what you want. You just have to understand that I wasn't prepared for this. I have a lot of other responsibilities: I need to go to sch-"

The girl was cut off as she was pummeled by the excited boy. He was laughing and cheering.

"I always wanted to live with you Kagome!"

"I already got the adoption papers, it's legal now. You get to stay with me!" She couldn't help the smile that spread on her face and the giddiness that entered her own voice. She wouldn't be alone anymore; she had someone to love and someone who can love her back.

"Whoot! I love you mom!" Shippo's smile instantly disappeared as he covered his mouth. He hadn't meant to call her that, he always wanted to, but he never meant to say it aloud.

"I love you too Shippo, my son." It sounded weird to say it aloud and a little scary, but she knew she wouldn't want it any other way. By the smile on Shippo's face and the way he ran into her arms, she guessed he felt the same way.

Kagome let go of Shippo and tried to get out of his grip.

"You're a lot stronger then you look." She commented.

"That's because I'm a full demon!" He flexed his arm to show off his muscles, "I'll have to be the man in the house now and take care of you!"

"I guess you will, I wasn't lucky enough to get the strength from my father."

"He was a half-demon right? What was he like? What traits did you get from him? What was your mommy like? They are gone now right? And your little brother? I remember you telling me what happened to them and why you lived alone. But you don't have to be alone anymore! I will stay with you always!" Shippo hugged his new mom again.

"Those are a lot of questions." She was touchy about the topic of her past, but she knew she had to be honest with him now that he was her son. He was only a kid after all and had a kid's curiosity. "I can't answer them all right now because I have to go to school, but I promise that I will answer them later okay? How about you ask me one question right now."

Shippo put a finger up to his mouth and thought about it for a second, "If you aren't strong, what kind of stuff did you get from him?"

"Well, I can hear pretty well and run fast. I also have pretty good agility and fighting abilities, but I'm not sure if I got the fighting and agilities from him. I also have miko powers from my mom's side."

"Coool. Is that why you smell so good? You have miko and demon powers so there is something unique about your smell." Shippo smelled her to get his point across.

"I don't know? I wasn't aware that demons and miko's had certain scents. I guess I didn't get my fathers' ability to smell well." She laughed as Shippo came closer and smelled her hair.

"I was never sure what was so different about your smell, I just thought you smelled really good."

"I have to get going now Shippo, I'm sorry but I have to start school today. My first class is at 8 but I'll be home for lunch. I don't have anything to keep you entertained, I'm sorry." Kagome got her book bag and some money to buy books. She remembered that she had three boxes with her. One was cooking 

supplies and food, another had clothes and bathroom stuff in it, and the last one had all of her books. She always loved to read. "If you want, I have some books you can look through. I'm sure I have some of my books from when I was younger."

They said their good-byes and Kagome took off for school. It was a good thing she was fast or she would miss her first day of classes. Her stomach rumbled and she remembered the forgotten bowl of ramen on the counter.

_At least Shippo will have some more food, in case he gets hungry. I forgot that he can't cook for himself. I have to get a grip on this mother thing, there seems to be a lot more to it then I had originally thought._

--

She arrived at her college with only a minute to spare. She had her schedule in hand as she approached a large brick building that she knew was hers. She just had to get to room 312, which was on the fourth floor.

Because of her major, most of her classes were in this building. Her next class was in room 136. Only two of her six classes were not in this building, they were in the science building. She had decided to go for criminal justice/premed. She figured if she went for neurology and criminal justice she would have a better understanding of how and why people do what they do. Both the mental and physical happenings.

She had decided on this course ever sense her family was murdered. She didn't want anyone else to go through that.

She was so busy grumbled how she would never make it on time that she failed to notice the person at the top of the stairs. She collided with something hard and they both stumbled forward, through the door on the top of that flight and onto the fourth floor.

"I'm really sorry about that, I was just trying to find my class." She quickly stood up and looked around for her room.

"Well watch where you're going next time whench." The boy stood up and brushed off the non-existent dust from his pants.

Kagome looked over at the person who had insulted her, or rather looked up. He must have been over 6' while she was barley 5'2". He had long silver hair and golden eyes. She also noticed the two dog ears on the top of his head.

"My name is _Kagome_." She huffed at him and then giggled as his ears tweaked at the sound of her voice.

"What's so funny?" He growled at her. His eyes widened briefly as he looked down at the girl in front of him. She looked almost like his ex girlfriend, Kikyo, except her long black hair flowed down in loose curls instead of being poker straight. Her eyes were more of a chocolate brown too and were filled with a lot 

more emotion than hers. Kikyo always looked at everyone like they were filth under her feet, even him sometimes.

Kagome blushed as he continued to stare at her. He looked her up and down and then paused at her eyes.

"I have to get to class." Kagome mumbled as she looked around at the nearest door to find a number.

"Feh. Stupid freshman always getting lost. You're not even in the right building; this is for more advanced classes for third years. Well mainly, technically I'm in my second year but you know" He shrugged his shoulders and smirked his arrogant smile while he started to walk down the hallway.

She fumed at his stupidity and narrow-mindedness. She walked down the hallway, looking for her class. She saw the room he walked into and noticed that it was her class too.

She walked into the class while the teacher was talking. She'd never been to college and wasn't sure if you got in trouble or not for being late.

"Sorry I'm late." Kagome looked around nervously as she tried to find an open seat.

"Is this your first year?" The teacher asked her. He was an older teacher with graying hair, small glasses and a kind face. He obviously thought that she was lost.

"Well technically but-" She blushed again and looked down at her schedule. She knew she was in the right class.

"All first years are at the other end of the campus" He turned around and began lecturing again.

Kagome saw an open seat at the back of the room, right next to that boy. She made her way to the back and sat down next to him, aware of all the eyes that were on her. She tried to ignore them and pay attention to what he was saying, she wished she stopped and picked up a notebook first.

She was glad that she hadn't missed anything, right now he was just going over the syllabus, which was being passed around. She still had two more classes today. One more in this building and one more in the science building.

"What are you doing here whench. Are you really this stupid?"

She looked over at the angry boy and just turned her head. She wasn't going to acknowledge someone that was being so rude. She heard him growl a bit more, obviously angered because she ignored him.

--

At the end of class she stood up and walked to the front of the room. She could tell that some people were still staring at her. It was a relatively small class, consisting of only 30 or so people. But then again, it was a private school.

"Hi, I'm Kagome Higurashi." She held out her hand to the teacher who gladly accepted it.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. You just looked so much like a freshmen. I'll just check you off on my list, just try not to miss role call or I will mark you absent. Some teachers don't care if you show up or not but you lose points if you don't attend my class. Seeing as it's the first day, I'll cut you some slack." The teacher took a paper from his desk and checked off her name.

"Thank you" He nodded his head at her and she made her way to her next class two floors down. She knew that boy was following her, she could sense it with her miko powers, so she wasn't surprised when he appeared next to her.

"Why are you in this building?" He scolded her like a child. She just shoved her schedule at him so he can see for himself. "If you are in this building why are you acting so stupid? So like a freshman?"

"Because this is my first year at college, obviously." She rolled her eyes at him and walked into her next class, letting the door slam on his face.

He was mad now, not just annoyed. How could she treat him like this? No one treated him like this. He didn't care if it was her first year or not. He walked in and sat down next to her, which happened to be the front row.

"Then why are you in these classes?"

"Because they pertain to my major." He grinded his teeth at the sarcastic answer.

"Well I know that, how did you get into these classes? What are you, like 16?"

"I just turned 18 for your information and I graduated early. Plus I did well on the placement exams." She imitated his smug look. "What are you, like 30? Early 40's? You could be with that grey hair."

The boy opened and closed his mouth for a couple of seconds. This wasn't the reaction he expected.

_Then again, _he thought_, she just doesn't know who I am yet._

"It's silver and I am 20. Do you even know who I am?" the boy glared his eyes and looked pissed, "Im Inuyasha."

Of course she had heard of him, despite this being her first year. And she already knew who he was, she just didn't care. For her freshman seminar, which she had to attend so she could get her schedule and know where her classes were, some of the advisors had warned them about several things; and staying away from Inuyasha happened to be one of them.

Apparently he was this big shot that the upper classman admired and everyone who didn't admire him, feared him. It was said that even the dean didn't dare talk back to him.

Of course she thought it was a lot of bull, who cares if he was able to beat up Sesshomaru? Sesshomaru use to be the 'big cheese', and happened to be Inuyasha's older half-brother, and he was a full demon, 

where Inuyasha was a half-demon. So it was even more impressive that this half-demon beat up an older full-blooded demon.

"Ohhhh…" Kagome widened her eyes in mock surprise, "I am so scared."

_Honestly, I can probably take this guy down no problem and I only have ¼ of demon in me. _Kagome looked away from him when she noticed the teacher walk in.

"You should be." He growled menacingly but knew it wasn't having any effect on the girl. He realized the teacher walked in and remembered that he had followed her to class. He also noticed that it was his class. Coincidence? He didn't think so. They must have the same major. However, he couldn't picture the small, pathetic girl next to him getting into criminal justice.

He let his mind wonder as the teacher droned on about everything. He probably didn't do as well as he could have because he didn't often go to class and he barely paid attention. Of course, when asked, he would swear the teachers just hated him because of his reputation.

He hated to sit in front; it was such a dorky thing to do. He also hated school, it was boring and a waste of his time, he just wanted to beat people up. Why did he need a degree in it?

He started to growl under his breath as he thought of these things. Some of the people in class visible backed away and the teacher casually walked towards his desk on the other side of the room. The dog demon was also known for his bead temper.

His nose twitched and he smelt something unusual. If he had paid attention before he would know where it came from. Instead he just got irritated, there were too many smells to try and pick out just one. He hadn't decided why he wanted to find it and he didn't care. He guessed he just liked it because it was different.

--

Her last class was in the science building. It was a chemistry class and they were assigned lab partners today. She was partnered with a girl who had long brown hair tied into a pony-tail. She was very nice, although a little blunt at times. Her name was Sango and she liked to mix chemicals and blow stuff up.

They walked together and talked about nothing in general as they headed out of the classroom.

"So where are you headed too?" Kagome asked her new friend.

"Probably just home, that was my last class for today." Sango slung her book bag over her shoulder as she chewed her gum, "How about you?"

"I need to go to the book store, I still haven't bought any of my books yet." She looked guilty as she saw Sango's full book bag while hers was obviously empty, "I guess I've been procrastinating."

"Oh it's no biggie, we never do work on the first day of classes anyhow. I don't have anything to do right now, so how about I go with?"

They walked to the store together and Kagome answered why she was in upper classes when she was only 18. She also explained that her Uncle moved to the U.S. and she lived on her own now.

In turn, Sango explained that she was 21 and still lived with her parents because, as she explained it, she wasn't an idiot. She wasn't going to give up free rent, food, and laundry services. Besides, she loved her mother and her little brother. Her parents were divorced and she never really saw her father.

"That sucks about your father." Kagome knew how it was to not see your father anymore and sympathized. They reached the bookstore and she took out her schedule and looked for her books and some notebooks as they talked.

"It's no biggie, he left when I was 5 so I didn't really know him that well. You want this book." She picked up a chemistry book and handed it to her, "What about you? Do you still see your parents?"

Kagome immediately got uncomfortable; she never talked about what happened to her parents. Kaede tried for a little bit but eventually she just gave up. Instead of answering, she asked her if the book she picked up was the right one.

"What are you in that class for?" Sango looked at the criminal justice book and then at her schedule, "You have an odd assortment of classes, what's your major?"

And just like that Kagome changed the topic. She knew two sure fire ways to do this: Ask a general question or ask a question about themselves. It was human nature to want to talk about yourself and most people were more than happy to oblige.

Kagome paid for her books and some pens. She loaded everything into her book bag and started to head home.

"Hey, do you want to come over for a bit? I have something to do tonight but you should come over for lunch or something." Kagome enjoyed the other girls company and was happy to have a friend.

"Sure, I'm starving and I'm always up for some free food."

They both talked about nothing in particular. Kagome made sure to keep the topic on Sango, which wasn't hard. She loved to talk.

When they reached her apartment Sango cooed at how cute it was, she grabbed her key from her pocket and opened the door.

"FINALLY!" Shippo scream ecstatically and jumped into Kagome's arms, causing her to drop her bag before she even entered the house.

Kagome smiled brightly, she hadn't really forgotten about Shippo but somehow he managed to slip her mind. She had a busy first day.

"How was your day, not too boring I hope."

"It was great mom! I read your books, I'm glad you've been teaching me how to read. Some of them were really hard, but I found one that had pictures!" Shippo ran over to the book he found and showed her how far he was.

"I hoped you would like to read. Maybe tonight YOU can read ME a bedtime story." She chuckled and brought in her bag and closed the door.

Sango stood off to the side, dumbfounded. Her mouth hung open as she looked at the two. He didn't look much like her, but maybe the father was a demon. But Kagome never mentioned having a son. And she was so young.

"Shippo I would like you to meet my new friend, Sango. Sango, this is my son Shippo." Shippo beamed at the title, he was proud to have Kagome as his mom. He bounced over to the girl and shook her hand.

"Kagome is the best mommy in the world!"

"Uhh… it's nice to meet you Shippo."

Kagome grabbed her new friend and steered her into the kitchen, "Were going to make some food, we'll be right back."

"I thought you lived alone?"

"Well I did for a while, Shippo is a new addition to my family. I adopted him yesterday. Sorry it kind of slipped my mind." Kagome looked guilty as she cleaned up her bowl of ramen which Shippo managed to eat for her.

"Oh, okay. I thought he was biologically yours. Why did you decide to adopt him?"

Kagome explained his situation in as little details as possible and how she had been taking care of him. She explained what recently happened and how she just had to take him.

They made some mac and cheese and Kagome decided that she should go shopping for food. Sango laughed and said she would help and so the three of them headed to the store.

A/N- They just keep getting longer, don't they? I don't think they will get any longer than this though, no fear. Next time we get into her training with kaede and on the way home she runs into a certain hanyou again**. Please review**, it makes me happy.

**REVIEW!** (please)


	4. Training Day

**Disclaimer**- Inuyasha does not belong to me, why would I write this if he did?

Kagome looked around her new house. She had to admit that it did look a lot nicer now. She had a couch in her living room with a coffee table in front of it. Sango had made her buy a bookshelf which was on the opposite side of the couch, in the corner, a cushy chair beside it. She had a little table in the kitchen with four non-matching chairs around it. The set had been more then Kagome wanted to spend and so she bought four different discount chairs. She even bought food, a dinnerware set, and a silverware set.

Sango also insisted on a bed but Kagome had to refuse. She simple did not want to spend all of that money, beds were really expensive. Besides, she was use to sleeping on the floor. That made Sango raise an eyebrow, but she let it pass for now. She knew that she shouldn't pry into her friend's life; she would tell her when she was ready.

"So I'll stay with Shippo and we will unpack some of your things. Where are all of your things?" Sango was sitting beside the three boxes of stuff, which were not even full. She started with the books because it was the least empty.

"Well…" Kagome looked down at the three boxes and realized how pathetic it seemed. She only had one box of clothes, one box of books and one other box that she had kept some food in and a few things to cook with.

Sango nodded her head as if she had expected it, which on her part, she did. She had a feeling that Kagome had been on her own for longer than a week.

"I have to get going now, I'll be back as soon as _humanly_ possible." She winked at Shippo and he giggled, glad to be in on the joke. Sango just thought they were being strange, "Thanks again for helping me Sango, you've been a life saver."

Kagome approached a little stone house. It was a normal enough house; sure it had some strange things with ribbons, writings, feathers, and some unidentifiable objects hanging around the porch but that can just be due to some eccentric old lady. Which is what most people, who didn't know better, thought Kaede was.

_Then again, she is a bit eccentric _Kagome walked inside and made her way down to the basement. She was already five minutes late and she knew she would pay for it. The old lady was extremely kind except for when she was training her pupils.

"Ahhh Kagome, my child, please sit down." An old lady with big red pants and a white shirt gestured to the only chair in the room. Some other objects you would find in the room would be multiple items for 

target practice, odd looking machines, a wall with many different weapons on it and a few miscellaneous things lying about.

Kagome eyed the chair suspiciously. It's not that the chair had anything out for her, but this old lady sure did.

"Kaede, I am sorry for my unpunctuality. I was wrapped up in prior engagements with a new friend I made and my new son. It won't happen again, I assure you." Kagome stood straight with her hands folded behind her back. If this was a new game, she wanted to make sure she was careful.

Kaede, looking for all the world like a kindly old lady, just smiled and nodded her head.

"Sounds like a busy day, maybe you should sit down and rest for just a moment."

Kagome looked suspiciously at the chair again. Now that she thought of it, she didn't remember a chair being there before. She tried to think of a polite way to decline but, upon further inspection of the old lady and the chair, she decided to go with the chair.

As she sat down she immediately felt at ease. Why was she worrying anyways? She could handle herself against Kaede. She started to close her eyes and then caught herself and forced them open. She saw a sword coming down on her and moved out of the way. Her limbs seemed to protest with ever move she made. She glared back at the chair accusingly; she knew it would betray her.

Another blow was headed her way, this time it was a fist. She blocked it and jumped out of the way, her arms were already sore where it blocked the punch. Her mind seemed cloudy and she tried to shake it clear and focus on the person before her. Kaede could be seen in the corner with a smirk on her face.

She looked at her attacker and tried not to be surprised that she hadn't noticed him when she first walked in, she must have been really distracted. And she knew she was paying for that now.

She blocked another attack, this time claws, as she tried to gain some time. She narrowly dogged the attacks, and felt some of them slip by her defenses, she would be sore after this.

She just needed to clear her head. She should have sensed the dark charm on the chair. It was so obvious now.

She closed her eyes, focused her power and sharpened her senses. She took a few deep breaths and cleared her mind, as she was taught. All the while the attacker kept chasing her. He was getting upset and started to gain speed. He seemed like nothing more than a tornado as he tried to brutally attack the girl. However, even with her eyes closed, she seemed even more aware. She dogged every attack perfectly now.

And then she saw it. Well literally she sensed it, seeing as her eyes were closed. It was as if she could see more now, even though she shouldn't be able to see anything. She knew this was what Kaede had been talking about. She wasn't just being a crazy old lady after all.

Kagome grabbed onto the thread and pulled with her powers. The pink engulfed it and suddenly the spell was gone. She felt her limbs break free and the slowness leave her mind. Everything was even clearer than before.

Suddenly she heard so many sounds: drilling, hammering, police sirens, and so many more. This she could handle though. She knew it was coming from the machines. Kaede was trying to distract her and block her hearing. She was hit in the side and tried to pick out the sound of her attacker.

She knew it would be easier to open her eyes, but she knew that would defeat the purpose. She felt like she was just within grasp of something; she just wasn't sure what it was. She knew she felt it before, but she always opened her eyes and broke the concentration before getting it.

She could distinguish between the sounds now. She heard the soft patter of her attacker's feet as he came after her. She knew the slight swish of his arm coming from the left. She was in her zone and there was no hope for the other guy now. She wasn't just hearing the sounds anymore, it was like she could _sense_ his movements, sometimes before they even happened.

And then she saw it. Right in the corner of her mind, in the unused part of her brain. She knew that humans typically used only 20 of their brain, whereas demons used about 40. She, however, had the unique ability to unlock certain parts that weren't meant to be unlocked. It was hard and exhausting, but Kaede had been teaching her sense she was a little girl how to use this for her benefit. It required both demon and miko powers though, which is why she was the first to accomplish it.

She pushed harder into that part of her mind, but it was like a wall was blocking her path. Finally it gave free and another light turned on inside her head. She harnessed it and anchored it down before it could escape.

She opened her pitch black eyes and the attacker faltered. And then there was a blur and she was gone.

Seconds later she appeared behind him and kicked him in the side. Caught off guard, he succumbed to the kick and collided with the floor. However, it didn't hurt that much. She was fast, but strength was not her specialty.

"Nice one. I should be so lucky that you didn't put your Miko powers into that." Kagome walked over to him and helped him up, hey chocolate brown eyes back to normal.

"I don't want to go purifying my sparring partner, now do I?" Kagome grinned at Kouga and they made their way over to Kaede.

"You saw the spell and you rid yourself of it. Not only that but you unlocked your shadow within. I could just barely make you out." The old lady nodded her head appreciatively, "It's still a wonder how you have both miko and demon powers. Well, I know how, I just don't understand how they co-exist. Your miko powers should be trying to purify your demon side, and vice versa." She mumbled to herself as she usually does, sipping on a cup of tea that Kagome didn't real her having a few moments ago. Kagome 

narrowed her eyes; she knew something was going on. Kaede had been doing some strange things lately.

"What? I didn't see her at all." Kouga huffed and crossed his arms.

"Aww, am I too fast for the itty bitty wolf." Kagome teased and pinched his cheek.

"That sounds like a challenge to me." They were facing each other now, grins plastered on both of their faces.

"Now now kids. I have other plans for Kagome today. You thought I'd let you off that easy for being late?" She chuckled and the girl before her gulped. The tea in her hands was nowhere to be seen now, replaced by a box, the contents clanking together as she showed it to them, "I will only need Kagome for this next part. Let's see what kind of potions you can expel from your body, eh?"

--

She was tired. Not only was she tired but she felt as if her whole body was bruised and swollen. She walked home, not bothering to hurry. Not that she could even if she wanted to. Her head spun occasionally and she tried to stay focused, she didn't live that far.

Kouga had left early on Kaede's request. The rest of the time hadn't been as much fun. Every part of her body ached, including her ears, and some parts that she didn't know could ache, ached.

She turned down another street and realized that she had lost her way. Just great, Sango was probably wondering where the heck she was by now.

She turned around to retrace her steps and came face to face with a black chest. Upon further inspection, she realized that it was Inuyasha, dressed in a black long-sleeved tee and jeans. His silver hair shone brightly in the moon light.

"Watch where you're going whench." He growled, and looked down. He saw a girl, her black hair was in a ponytail, or it was. Now it was messy and half had fallen out. Her face was flushed, as if she had just ran a mile and her clothes had rips in them, a cut here and there. He smelt the fresh blood and that scent came back to him. It was even stronger now and he realized it must be the girl, "What happened to you?"

"Bad day?" She chuckled nervously, she wasn't sure what she looked like but she knew she looked a wreck, "I work as a chef and I fell today, grabbing onto the work station so I wouldn't fall. Only I grabbed onto the cloth, which held all of our knives." She gave an embarrassed smile.

He realized that she sucked at lying, but he didn't really care to pursue any further, not that she would tell him the truth anyways.

"Aren't you that whench from school?" He sniffed the air again, liking the strange scent. He wondered what it was that gave it that unique smell. He realized that he had taken a step closer to her. He just crossed his arms and looked down at her, pretending like he had meant it.

"My name is Kagome. Ka-Go-Me. It's not that hard to remember, even for someone like you." She glared up at him and was aware of how close he was, making her shift her weight from foot to foot, taking away from the intimidating glare.

To her surprise he smiled, put his arms down and even chuckled. "Wow, you are so intimidating."

She crinkled her nose at him and crossed her arms. He just smiled more.

_Even though she looks like she just walked out of a hurricane, she is kinda cute when she tries to be intimidating._

"What are you doing out here anyways?" Kagome asked him, noticing the garbage bags behind him.

"None of your business. You should just get home, it's not very safe at night and you wouldn't be able to defend yourself against a rat."

"I could take you on any day!" she put her hands down at her sides and balled up her fists, although she did secretly hope it could be any day but today, she was exhausted.

"Maybe if I was in a coma." He growled and she realized that he growled like a dog, which was quite comical and made her laugh, "Why are you always laughing at me!" He screamed at her and threw his arms up in the air, "You do know that most people don't want to come within twenty feet of me, don't you!?"

She laughed some more at his antics. She didn't know why people were so scared, he may have a temper but he obviously wouldn't hurt someone. Unless he was actually fighting them, like his brother she supposed. He didn't seem like the type to hurt random innocent people though.

"Wow, you are so intimidating." She imitated him from before.

He extended his claws a bit and glared at her. Why wasn't this girl afraid of him? And why didn't she just ignore him if she wasn't afraid of him? Must people despised him because he just didn't fit in. That's why he built up a badass rep. How else were people going to stop picking on him and beating him up, like they did when he was little…

_A mini Inuyasha walked home from school, with his books in his hands. He looked down and tried to avoid peoples' accusing eyes. He was almost home when he was stopped by three humans. They were only human, but they were much older and he was so young._

"_Hey _hanyou._" The first one spit the name at him as if it were cursed, "Going home to your mommy?"_

_He just stayed quiet and tried to walk around them. One of them pushed him down to the ground and he dropped all of his books. He looked up at them with sad eyes._

"_Aww, are you going to cry now?" Another one sneered at him and kicked him in the side. The others joined in and they beat him and called him names._

"_You are an abomination. Everyone hates you. You would be better off dead."_

"_You don't belong with humans because of your tainted blood, and even the Demons think you are a disgrace to their kind."_

_Inuyasha just squeezed his eyes shut and blocked them out. _

At least it wasn't demons this time, they are much worse._ Was all he could think. He wished his mom was still alive, but he knew it was his fault she wasn't. Well he wasn't naïve, he knew it was his dad's too. If he took her in, he should have protected her. He should have known that they wouldn't let him be with a human. He left soon after she died and just left his older brother money. He was rich and owned several different mansions across the world. He went to live somewhere in Europe and they haven't seen him sense._ _His older half-brother hated him because he was a reminder of their Father's shame. Sesshomaru could never forgive his father for engaging in copulation with that whench and having this abomination..._

His eyes turned a shade red as he remembered. He looked up at his house that he shared with Sesshomaru and growled. At least he didn't beat on him anymore. Not sense Inuyasha had learned to fight back and actually beat him in a fight at school. He just pretended like he didn't have a little half-brother now.

He looked back down at the girl that stood before him. She probable hated him too, now that he thought about it. Even his ex-girlfriend only went out with him so that she could change him. She wanted him to be fully human, and could never fully love him otherwise. It hurt even to this day.

Kagome was a little afraid as he growled and stared down at her with goldish-red eyes

"What are you still doing here, bitch?" Kagome mentally gulped. She was tough but the look in his eyes would make anyone hesitate.

"Look, I was just on my way home." She was starting to get a little dizzy and realized that she should get home sooner rather than later. She needed some major sleep time. She took a step away from the enraged hanyou and stumbled. She held her head for a second and closed her eyes, breathing in deep and gaining focus.

"You probably won't even make it to your house." His eyes were back to their golden glory as he looked down at the girl.

"I'll be fine thank you very much." Kagome straightened her back and made a purposeful stride forward, which would have turned out very nice, had she taken gravity into account. However she didn't and she fell forward.

Instead of hitting the ground, which is usually what fallen objects do, she was caught by the half-demon who wrapped his arm around her waist and stood her up again.

"Hey, I don't know what really happened to you but you clearly aren't in the best condition. These streets aren't all that safe either, so I _guess_ I'll have to take you home. I think I could be charged as an accomplice or something if anything happened to happen to you and I didn't do anything. So I'm really just protecting myself here." Inuyasha rambled on as he started walking her down the street.

Kagome yawned loudly and mumbled a thanks. She thought it was funny how he rambled; he sure went through emotions rather fast. The phrase 'quick tempered' hardly does him justice.

They walked down the street and she gestured vaguely to her left.

"Why don't you just tell me your address?" He had to stoop a little to put his arm around her waist and support her. It was very uncomfortable and he told her so when he picked her up and she started to protest. He carried her bridal style as she huffed and told him the address.

'Well maybe if you weren't so short."

"Im not short, you are just a tower ready to come crashing down any second." Kagome smirked, she so beat him.

"Im not the one who fell." He shot back and she just stuck her tongue out at him.

He walked slowly to her house, he could run but he knew she was wounded and didn't want to hurt her further. That and he liked the way she smelt, not that he would admit it. He looked down at the girl in his arms and thought it odd that this was where his night led him.

"So, how did you get these wounds?" He tried to sound nonchalant about it, but he was very curious.

She knew she was a bad liar and didn't have the energy to argue, so she opted for the truth. She told him that she was sparing. Of course he didn't believe her.

"Well, believe what you want. I happen to train with my mentor at least twice a week. And yes, I could probably kick your butt if I wasn't so worn out from today."

"Sure you can. What do you study then?" Inuyasha tilted his head and his ears perked up, waiting for a response. He tried to think of the fragile girl in his arms sparing with anyone and couldn't.

"Well I'm a miko, so I mainly try and harness my power, but I also learn hand-to-hand combat, some weaponry, and whatever my crazy teacher decides to throw at me. I actually don't know why I have to learn all of this, but I have been learning it sense I was just a little girl." Kagome was told that, if anyone should find out about her demon and priestess powers, people would either try to kill her or manipulate her. It used to make sense, when she was younger. However, she was sure that with her parents dead and her scent being just 'different', no one would find out. For all the murders knew, she was dead. The whole business was hush-hush about her family's murder. She was secretly moved to live with her 

Uncle. But I guess it's better safe than sorry. After all, if they were actually interested, it wouldn't be hard to look her up and find out that she was still alive and attending college. She supposed she could have gone, changed her name and moved but she didn't think it would be necessary.

Kagome would soon be sad to find out she would need every last bit of training she could get.

"Hmm, that's strange. I thought I smelt miko powers, but it seemed a bit… different" Kagome looked up at him and smiled when she saw his head tilted and ears perked up.

_He looks so cute when he is inquisitive._ She giggled a bit, much to his distress.

"Look, why do you keep laughing at me!? I'm not funny, I'm scary and mean!"

"Because carrying me around and looking cute is so terrifying." She laughed again as he fumbled over come incoherent words, eventually settling on 'keh'.

They talked a bit on the way back, mainly about why they picked there majors and what they did in their spare time. Kagome wouldn't talk about her past, and he didn't want to talk about his, so the subject was avoided completely.

Inuyasha thought about what she had said and if she meant it. Certainly he was not cute. Although, given further thought, being cute might not be all _that_ bad. Just as long as the word didn't get around of course.

He reached her house and gently set her down. He realized that they didn't live far from each other, but he wished the walk could have been a bit longer. He enjoyed talking to someone who didn't either fear or hate him. Or both.

Kagome was also surprised when he set her down and she realized they were back already. She was tired though and glad that she could finally get some rest.

"I guess I'll see you at school?" Inuyasha asked before she could walk away.

"Of course, maybe we can spare sometime and you won't think I'm so weak anymore." She laughed a little and he gave a haughty smile.

"Well I guess I will have to take it easy on you, I don't want you to break a nail or anything." Kagome just rolled her eyes at him.

"Good night Inuyasha, and thanks for taking me home."

"Don't mention it." She laughed at him and his expression turned serious, "No really, I do have a rep. to maintain."

She laughed which made him laugh and they both said good night.

A/N- How did you like it? Next time Kagome will find out some interesting things about her father and receive something from Kaede that was left to her by her Father. She will also receive some pretty bad news. Maybe Kouga and Inuyasha will meet too? I guess it depends on how it all unfolds…

Don't Forget to REVIEW! It's not hard and it would make me very happy, even if you just write something small like, good job or love it. I would be thrilled with just about anything. Peace.

(REVIEW!)


	5. In which not many things happen

Disclaimer- Inuyasha does not belong to me.

Kagome came home to Sango passed out on the couch and Shippo waiting up for her. She always thought that the babysitter put the kid to bed but then again, what did she know?

Shippo missed her and said he couldn't sleep. She had planned on letting Shippo have the couch, but she supposed he wouldn't have slept there anyway, he wanted to sleep next to Kagome, floor or otherwise.

The following morning, Sango and Kagome headed to school. They split up when they reached the college. Kagome headed to her criminal justice classes and Sango went to her science classes. She sat up front, as per usual, and Inuyasha sat next to her, which was quite unusual. Inuyasha always sat in the back, his new seating arrangement seemed to upset the teacher, not that he said anything.

Kagome couldn't help but be drawn to the dog demon. He kept looking at the clock every five minutes, as if the class might end without his knowledge. He scribbled on his notebook, but Kagome couldn't tell what he was drawing, just a bunch of weird looking gadgets. She jotted down some notes, the class didn't seem like it was going to be difficult. She noticed the hanyou glance over at her from time to time, pretending like he was looking at something else when she looked back at him. She would chuckle and he would growl at her, making her laugh more and him growl more. It was an endless cycle.

"Um…" the teacher cleared his throat, he seemed like such a nervous teacher, "Is there something wrong Inuyasha?"

Said demon just glared at him. Obviously something was wrong, what kind of question was that? The teacher hesitated a bit and visibly gulped.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome whispered at the demon. He just glared at her, and much to his surprise she glared back.

"Keh, I'm fine teach. Just go back to what you were doing." He titled his head back and closed his eyes.

The teacher, clearly glad to have permission to talk, continued the lecture. Kagome couldn't understand why everyone just let that dog walk all over them. The student is supposed to listen to the teacher for goodness sake!

After class, they walked to their next class together. Sometimes they talked, and other times it was a comfortable silence. She met Sango for lunch and went to work. The rest of that week and the next week continued in much the same fashion. Sango was busy on some of the days though and so they didn't meet up for lunch, Kagome instead asked Inuyasha if he wanted to have lunch with her. He accepted but acted like he was forced to go. The few lunches they had together were nice, they mainly just enjoyed each others' company and they barely fought. Inuyasha even admitted to himself that he just _might_ like spending time with the girl, not that he would ever voice his opinions.

Sango seemed to have thought it best if she stayed with Kagome and slept over, not that she complained. In return, she chipped in for food money and they took their clothes over to Sango's house to wash them. Shippo meet her little brother and they immediately became friends.

--

"I'm so happy that it's Friday! I can't wait for the weekend to start." Sango stretched as they made their way to class.

"It's only the second week of classes, Sango." Sango shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey don't you have off from work today?" Kagome nodded and then checked the time.

"If we don't hurry we'll be late!" Sango sighed as they started to rush to school. They both turned a corner and came to a halt. There was a motorcycle parked right on the sidewalk.

The guy took off his helmet and chuckled nervously at the girls. He put his bike in reverse and parked it next to the sidewalk, instead of on it. He hopped of his bike and bowed in front of the two girls.

"I believe I must have not woken this morning for you two beauties can only be from a dream." He smiled and kissed the back of both of their hands, "I'm Miroku, what are your lovely names?"

The girls just looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. They introduced themselves and then said they were going to be late for school. Miroku checked his cellphone and furrowed his eyebrows together.

"I thought the first classes started at 8 and it's only 7:30." Miroku stepped closer to the girls to show them his cellphone.

"HeHe." Kagome chuckled nervously as Sango sent death glares at her, "I guess my watch must be off or something." She was about to take a step away from Sango when she felt a hand grab her butt.

"Pervert!" She shrieked and slapped him across the face, turning bright red in the process. Sango saw what happened and cracked her knuckles as she came closer to Miroku.

"Who do you think you are?" Miroku took a step back and apologized for his wondering hand, he just couldn't control it these days, "Well you better learn how to control it."

Kagome grabbed Sango's arm and told her it was okay. She didn't have to scare the guy to death, she was starting to feel sorry for him. She decided to change the topic.

"So why were you parked on the sidewalk anyways?"

"That's why I came to school early today. You see, it was my birthday yesterday and my friend made me this bike." The girls wished him a belated birthday and then looked at the bike. It was mostly black with dark purple streaks in it. It looked very expensive and very nice.

"You say he _made_ you this?" Kagome was awestruck and Sango just chuckled, asking him if his favorite color was purple.

"Actually, I believe he did that as a joke. You see, my monk robes are the same colors."

"Sure, you're a monk and I'm a queen." Sango rolled her eyes, not believing a word.

"Really, I come from a long line of monks, when the oldest son in the family reaches his 21st birthday it is tradition to pass on the robe. You know, in the older days, it was a symbol of respect and wealth if you wore certain colors, purple being one of them."

Kagome nodded her head and agreed with him before Sango could protest. She remembered hearing that in one of her history classes. "So you are actually a monk?"

"Indeed I am. The ability to ward off demons with sutra's is also an ability that has been passed down to me and I learned how to do it at a very young age. It's rare that anyone actually practices it anymore though, what with the whole peace thing between humans and demons now."

Sango still eyed him suspiciously. They all walked together as they headed to class. Miroku was slapped again as he 'brushed' up against Sango. The girls started to get the idea that he does this a lot.

"Kagome?" Miroku stood in front of the girl, looked at her seriously and took both of her hands in his, "It is my duty to pass on my knowledge and gifts. Would you do me the honor of bearing my children?"

Kagome gaped at him for a second, processing what he just said, when he was hit in head and knocked down.

"What are you doing you leach?" Inuyasha yelled at him and crossed his arms, glaring daggers at the monk on the ground.

"Why nothing 'yash." He stood up and rubbed his head, "You don't have to go jumping to conclusions, it was just a simple question." The hanyou just stared at him as Sango cleared her throat, not wanting to be forgotten.

"Oh, Inuysha, this is Sango. Sango, Inuyasha." Miroku and Sango just stared at Kagome.

"You guys know each other? I was expecting Miroku to introduce _us_ to _him_." Sango accused the girl next to her. She excused herself and grabbed Kagome by the arm, dragging her out of hearing distance from the boys.

"What? He's just in a few of my classes. We sit next to each other and talk occasionally. Oh, and I had lunch with him a couple of times." Kagome looked at her friend with confused eyes, she was acting so weird about this.

"You know who he is, don't you? I saw him and his brother last year, I don't think you should be talking to this guy. He's big trouble." Sango looked at her worriedly, as if he already hurt her.

"Why does everyone fear him so much? He doesn't seem that bad."

"Kagome, look at him. I don't know what he tells you but I've seen the real him. You should see the things he does to people who so much as look at him the wrong way. He has a bad rep. for a reason. I can't even count the number of people he has beat up on my fingers, there are that many. I heard some of them were even teachers."

Kagome looked at the hanyou again. He glared at a passing demon, who was easily twice his size, and the demon sped up and averted his eyes. Maybe she should be a little more careful, just in case. She promised Sango that she would watch out and then Sango headed towards her class, Miroku trailed after her and another slap was heard in the distance.

Inuyasha walked over to Kagome and they both greeted each other and headed off to class. Kagome kept on glancing over her shoulder, she felt like someone was watching her.

"What's with your friend?" Inuyasha sneered, not liking that the girl took Kagome away before he even said hi. It was just rude.

"Oh, that's Sango. She is very protective I guess. She means well though." She tried to ignore her feeling and paid attention to Inuyasha.

"Keh. As if I would ever hurt you." Inuyasha sneered at someone else, who ran away. Kagome was surprised by what he said but then realized that he said it very quietly, he probably thought she didn't even hear him. It wasn't like him to admit things like that and he did think she was just a miko, they don't have any special demon powers.

"Why do you scare off everyone? It's not very nice."

"They aren't very nice." He retorted and they entered their classroom, the teacher was not yet there, "So I see you meet Miroku."

Kagome noticed the subject change but decided not to pursue it, she knew what it was like when people tried to pry answers from you. She did decide on trying to learn as much as possible about this angry hanyou. Then it hit her. It was just so obvious. She remembered how her dad said he was treated when he was growing up and how she would have been treated _differently_ if people knew about her demon blood. She knew what he must have faced growing up, he had to do something to stop the racist people. Her eyes softened at the hanyou before her, she could never understand why people cared about what kind of blood ran through your veins.

"Hello? Anyone in there?' Inuyasha waved his hand in front of her face. Kagome sat down next to him, noticing how he immediately took the front seat now.

"Oh yeah. Miroku is an interesting person. Does he treat all girls like that?" Kagome snapped out of her thoughts and focused on the question.

"If you mean by violating them and asking them to 'bear his children', then yes." Inuyasha snorted at the thought of his best friend.

Kagome giggled at the face he made, which suddenly turned into a growl.

"What do you always find so amusing!?" he just didn't understand this girl. One minute she was upset at him and the next she was laughing at him, neither of which people ever express towards him. Although he wouldn't admit it, he kind of started to like her laugh, even more so when he was the one who made her laugh.

"You." She answered.

The teacher walked in then and everyone got out there notebooks. The class was uneventful; Kagome took notes while Inuyasha slept. At the end of class, they were about to pack up there things when the teacher announced their first project. They had to do a presentation on a topic of their choice, as long as it related to the class. However, they were reminded that if they decided to get jobs in this line of work, you would have to learn to cooperate with others. Therefore, he decided to make it a group project and 18 minutes long. And, just as you can't pick your partner in real life, you can't pick your partner in this class.

He began to call out names that he ticked off from the chart at random. He got to Inuyasha's name and looked at him. He called out his name and began to call out another when he heard Inuyasha crack his knuckles and glare at him. He tried to call out several different names before he, suddenly, changed his mind. He looked at the girl next to him and called out her name. The demon just acted like nothing happened. At the end of the class, he told them that there topics were due the following class and they had to have a brief introduction explaining what they wanted to do, which the teacher would approve or disapprove of.

"Why do you always do that to our poor teacher?" Kagome asked him as they made their way out of the class, "And why are the teachers afraid of you?"

"Keh, as if I was going to be partnered with someone I didn't like." Kagome looked up at him in surprise, she knew he tolerated her but she didn't think he actually liked her. Inuyasha realized what he said and quickly added to it, "I need a partner who will be smart enough to do all the work for me, and the students in that class are all idiots. Sense you are so smart, I expect an A+."

Kagome glared at him and knew that there was going to be a catch.

"And besides, he doesn't deserve to be treated nicely. You should see the way he used to treat me. He tried failing me all the time, whether I deserved it or not. And he was constantly throwing me out of class and tried to get me expelled on several different occasions."

"Well, you aren't exactly a model student." Kagome wasn't sure if the teacher was being mean or fair. Inuyasha did seem like a trouble maker after all.

"Well seeing as my answers were different when my test came back and how I would get in trouble simple for drawing, I highly doubt it was my fault! He got what he deserved, It's not like I hospitalized him!" Inuaysha exclaimed rather angrily, not knowing why he was even defending himself. She obviously thought he deserved it, no matter what he says.

"Well, seeing the way you act now, I wasn't sure if you were exaggerating or not!" Kagome yelled back, he didn't have to get all snippy on her, it was a legitimate question, "And I am NOT going to do the whole project on my own!"

"Yes you will, you are too much of a model student to get a bad grade on this!"

"Actually, I am pretty sure I can do just fine in the class with or without an A on this project. However, based on how you pay attention in class, I highly doubt I can say the same thing for you." Kagome calmed down her voice and entered their next class. She didn't know why he had to be so difficult, she never did anything to him.

Inuyasha didn't have a retort for that. She seemed very serious and he knew that the project would majorly help his grade. He just didn't know why she had to be so difficult, couldn't she just listen like everyone else? He cracked his knuckles and glared at her, she just scoffed at him and sat down in the front row. However, she didn't sit in her usual seat, she sat in between two other people. This just infuriated him further, as he took his old seat in the back of the class.

She met up with Sango on her way to class, she tried to out run the hanyou, but failed and had to settle for just ignoring him. She did calmly tell him that she was not going to engage in conversation with him until he started acting like a normal person instead of an enraged beast.

"Hey Kagome, what's the matter?" Sango greeted her and they headed into their class.

"It's just that stupid Inuyasha!" She slammed her books on her desk in frustration.

"I told you he was no good. I tell you what, how about we go shopping after class? You need a few new outfits anyways." She eyed Kagome's usual attire: baggy jeans and a plain loose t-shirt.

"My clothes are very comfortable, thank you. Besides, I don't have a lot of extra money, if anything I should get Shippo some clothes."

"Oh my gosh! That would be so cute! Little kid clothes are so adorable!" She squealed and they decided to take Shippo shopping after class, "However, I am going to get you a few outfits, no discussion. You let me live at your house and barely let my help pay for anything. Besides, my father just sent me his monthly check, I have plenty of extra money."

Sango left no room for argument as the teacher walked into the room. She sighed but was happy that her friend cared. She would just have to find some way to make it up to her.

--

They had just got out of there last class and started to walk to Sango's house. She had a car and they couldn't walk all the way to the mall. Sango also said she had a few things form her room that she wanted to bring over.

Just as they were about to turn the corner and leave the school zone, a demon appeared in front of them.

"I said we need to talk." He grinded between his teeth, trying not to yell. He couldn't believe she thought he was a beast, it just figures, everyone was the same.

"Well I am busy." She went to walk around him but he stepped in front of her and wouldn't let her go anywhere. She knew he would just follow, so she decided on just crossing her arms and turning her head.

Sango glared at him and told him to move.

"We need to work on this assignment _before_ Monday." The demon ignored Sango.

"Oh, so NOW you care?" She glared back at him, "Well, how about you do it on your own if you are so worried about it."

"You ARE going to help, it's your project too!" He screamed at her, "And we are doing it today!" He, literally, put down his foot.

"I am going shopping today, so that is just too bad. If you are serious about doing this then we can do it tomorrow at around four, I have somewhere to be in the morning." She had already decided that she would just switch partners, but she was a little worried that the teacher wouldn't go for that. She knew he wouldn't want to go up against the dog demon so she figured that she was stuck with him.

They agreed to the time but neither of them would agree as to whose house they were going to. Neither of them wanted the other at their house. Kagome secretly didn't want him around her son because he wasn't a very good role model and he would probably trash her house. He didn't want her at his house because he just hated being at his house. Kagome was the one to give in this time though.

--

Shopping with Sango had actually been fun, and Shippo loved all the attention he got when he tried on different clothes. She also bought some pre-K books for Shippo, coloring books, and crayons. They went out for some food and ice cream afterwards and then headed home.

When they got done bringing all of their things in, Sango and Kagome started their homework. Just as Kagome was about to finish, Shippo got up from his coloring and plopped down on his stomach, propping his head on his hands. He stared at Kagome until she finished and looked at him.

"Can I learn stuff too?" He asked and Kagome smiled at how cute he was.

"Of course you can." She laughed as he picked up one of her heavy books and opened it. He tried to read it out loud, but quickly got confused.

"How about we start off with some of the books I bought you today?" Shippo grinned and ran over to get them, he wanted to learn and be smart just like his mommy.

"Can we do this one?" He had picked up a math book. She wasn't sure where he was in math, or if he knew any. She knew that he could say the alphabet, read, and count just fine because she had taught him those already. They started with simple addition and he caught on quickly.

They both worked at the problems in the book and Sango couldn't help but smile at the two. They were so cute and they deserved each other. When Shippo started to yawn, Kagome told him to take a bath and get ready for bed.

"You make a great mother." Sango put away her books and helped her friend clean up a bit.

"Really? Thanks. I am always so nervous that I'll forget something, or do something wrong. What if I do forget to do something! Or forget to teach him something! Oh my gosh, what about getting him a doctor or a dentist, I haven't even thought about that, I know he is a demon but…"

"Just calm down." Sango cut off the ranting girl, "Everything will be fine. You are doing the best you can, and the fact that you are so nervous about being a good mom already proves that you are a good mom."

Kagome thanked her friend and relaxed. Sango was right, she just always thought she would have plenty of time before she had a kid, not that she would ever consider giving up her son. She also thought that she would have her mother to help her. She sighed as she thought about it.

"What's the matter?" Sango asked gently.

"I just always thought that I would have my mother to help me with these things, ya know?" Sango nodded sympathetically. They had talked about her past and she knew some things about her family, except that her dad was a half demon and she killed her uncle. No one knew that she killed her uncle and only Shippo, Kaede, and Kouga knew she was a half demon. She felt bad keeping secrets from her friend, she has been so kind to her and helped her out so much, they were practically like sisters already.

"I don't have much experience, but I promise that I will help you in any way that I can." Sango said determinedly, "And if we need it, I am sure my mom would love to help out. She loves you and Shippo."

Kagome smiled and hugged her friend tight. They both went over to their bags and began to take out there new clothes. Sango had brought over her dressers and Kagome and Shippo each had their own space in them.

"With all of these new outfits you bought me, I won't have any room for my old clothes."

"That was the point!" Sango laughed, "I guess I did go a bit crazy today, eh?"

"Thanks so much Sango, I promise to make this up to you." Kagome went to her part of the dresser and saw that there was nothing inside. She glared over at her friend.

"What!? I didn't throw your clothes out!" Kagome continued to glare at her, "Well maybe I did. But think of it this way, now you have room for your clothes and you'll never have to wear those other clothes. I am sorry, but as my friend I just couldn't allow you to wear those. And don't worry, I kept your fighting clothes and apron for work."

Kagome stopped glaring at her and started to put her clothes away.

"You have training with Kaede tomorrow morning don't you? And then work afterwards at that restaurant. Why do you train with her anyways?" Kagome nodded at her questions and went over to the couch and sat down. She gestured for Sango to do the same.

"I just wanted to tell you something, and I hope you don't think any differently of me afterwards." Sango just nodded for her to continue, she was sure no matter what her friend said she would never think badly of her, she was practically like a sister to her.

Kagome explained that her dad was half-demon and she had demon blood running in her veins mixed in with her miko powers. Because she has both, they were hard to control and Kaede helped her with that. She told her that her parents were most likely murdered because her dad was a half-demon and he was drawing attention to himself. His job had a company that often clashed with his, and the outcome was never pleasant. He had told his boss that he had some truly amazing ideas that can explain time and revolutionize force fields. Someone must have found out and came after him. When they couldn't get the answers from him, they must have decided that they would rather it be lost then have a _hanyou_ present it and so they took drastic measures. They had killed him first and the only reason they went after the family was probably because of the 'tainted' blood that ran through their veins. It wasn't a secret that the head of the company, Naraku, disliked humans and hated the thought of a halfbreed even more.

Sango gaped as she continued her story and tears started to gather up in her eyes, how could anyone be so cruel?

And then Kagome explained that fateful night. She explained it just as everything happened, she could still remember it so vividly in her mind, as if it had happened to her just seconds ago. She explained how her uncle was and what she did. Sango was crying at the end and squeezed Kagome with all of her might, somehow hoping that the hug could erase her horrible past.

"Oh Kagome, I am so sorry."

"So you… don't hate me?" Kagome choked out the question, also crying.

"Of course not. You never did anything wrong. Heck, if your uncle was still alive I would kill him." And Kagome didn't doubt a word of it. She even felt a lot better getting it off her chest.

Shippo walked out after that, a little toothpaste on his cheek. He asked why they were crying, and Kagome said they were crying because they were happy that they were all a family. She then wiped off his face, brushed out his hair, and they all went to bed.

A/N- Inuaysha meets Shippo next, Kagome has a study date, and Kaede gives her a present. Not in that order, but it all still happens! Please REVIEW, I try to post asap but I have been so busy lately. Im sry if there were any typos, I tried to look over it fast but I just don't have much time.

**REVIEW!!**


	6. presents

Disclaimer: As you very well know, I do not own Inuyasha.

Kagome put on her tight black jumpsuit that she usually used for training. She arrived at Kaede's house five minutes earlier and found her sitting in the living room. She was surprised, to say the least. She had spent time with Kaede that didn't involve training, but on training days she was a completely different person. That person was not the one sitting on the couch. This person looked tired and old, she didn't even look up when Kagome sat down beside her. She just stared at the teacup in her hands, which Kagome realized she had failed to see her get. In fact, there was a tea kettle and another cup and saucer out on the table. There was also some sugar and a few cookies.

Kagome blinked at the stuff on the table. She was trained to inspect every angle of every room and she did it without even thinking now. She didn't even notice the set-up though. She made a mental note to pay more attention, she couldn't let her personal life distract her.

"Kagome, so nice that you can make it. Please, have a cup of tea." The old lady gestured at the cup before her.

"I'm here on time…?" Kagome said, but it came out as more of a question. She eyed the tea, thinking there must be something wrong with it. She sent out a pink aura to engulf it and realized that nothing seemed to be out of place. She picked up the cup.

Kaede chuckled beside her, "I guess I should've seen that coming, after the chair incident." She set down her cup and looked at the young girl beside her, suddenly feeling her age.

"Kagome, I am not sure how to approach this next topic, so I am just going to face it head on." She held up a steel box with a key hole in front and handed it to Kagome, who took the box without question.

"It has been a long time hasn't it?" Kagome knew this to be a rhetorical question and she knew she shouldn't interrupt, "You were just 14 at the time, I can hardly believe that you are already 18 now. In so many ways I have viewed you as a granddaughter to me and it pains me to know what you have been through. It pains me even more that I will have to add another burden to you. At first I wasn't going to, but recently…" she drifted off in a sigh.

"Kaede?" Kagome was confused as to why she brought up the day her family was murdered and she had no clue what new 'burdens' she was talking about.

"I always wished that I could have taken you in, instead of that despicable man." She narrowed her eyes in hate, "I can just be thankful that I trained you right and I can only hope that it will help in the future."

Kagome was nervous now, what did she know about her uncle, she thought that Kaede knew nothing of how he treated her. She never told her, she didn't want her to worry. She knew she could take care of herself.

"I just need to tell you, just in case you have any doubts. You did the right thing about your uncle that day, it could have only ended if one of you did not make it. Do not think about it anymore then you 

have. I know that you have cried and that is good. It would be worrisome if you felt nothing. But now it is done, and we move on." Kaede said it with no room for discussion and moved on, "Your father gave this box to me for safe keeping, until you turned 18. I know I am late… I just didn't want to give it to you. You are doing so well for yourself, your parents would be so proud. You did excellent in school even though you were living in horrible conditions, got a full scholarship for college, saved that poor boy and took him in as your own, despite how hard you know it will be to keep him. You are doing great in your training…."

Kagome looked at the object in her hand. Somehow she wasn't surprised that she knew about her uncle, she always seemed to know everything. She was happy with Kaede's words, she had always wondered if her 'grandmother' would have thought differently of her if she had known the truth, it was like a burden was lifted from her shoulders. A tear came to her eye as she looked at the box and thought about her parents being proud of her.

"Kaede, grandmother, thank you so much for understanding." She gave her a hug and Kaede was the one to break it.

"I am feeling my age more and more with every day my child." Kagome was about to protest when she held up her hand, "I don't know how they found out about it but I just nearly managed to keep it safe."

She pulled out a necklace that was hidden under her shirt and took it off. On the necklace was a simple, old-looking key that had a weird shape to it. She handed it over to Kagome.

"Your father came to me just hours before…" Kaede wondered off, neither of them wanting to bring up sad memories, "Anyways, he gave me this. He said that it was for you and only you, on the day of your 18th anniversary. He didn't have time and he said he had to get back to his family. He said if anything were to happen to him, to tell you, Souta, and your mother that he loved you all very dearly and he was sorry. So sorry."

They both sat there, crying there silent tears. He never even thought that they would come after them too.

Kagome looked at the key and opened the box. There was a short letter in it, scrawled in her father's sloppy handwriting:

Dearest Kagome,

I wanted nothing more than to be able to give this to you myself. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me, I never meant for any of this to happen. I first started this project in secret, I was making it just for my little girl. I realized that my most trusted friend wasn't as true as he seemed, but 

it was already too late. I never imagined anyone would make such a brawl over my findings, no one even knew that I put my theory to the test and made this. I'm not even sure what kind of impact it will have on the wearer other then the specific intent. I think it may try to become one with the wearer, I cannot be sure. My time is limited; I can only tell you to keep this on at all times, despite what happens I know that it will work. It has to.

If Kaede has given it to you, then I fear the worst. It takes great power to use this, and it takes a combination of both miko and demon powers, I'm sure Naraku would be infuriated to find that he cannot use it. Still, I couldn't take the risk of him having it for if he unlocked it's secrets, much worse things can happen. I love you Kagome, you will always be my little girl. Tell Souta that I am watching out for him and I love him with every ounce of my being. Tell your mother I am so proud of her, she was always there for me, I love her so much.

Love Always,

Your Father.

Kagome folded the note, tears falling freely now. She inserted the key and opened the box, she gasped as she looked inside of it. She knew at once that he had truly made it just for her. He had used her favorite color, a beautiful shade of dark green. She took out the two items inside and examined them, she didn't know her father could be such a good scientist and artist.

She held up the first item, a necklace. It looked like two ribbons that were held together by the green stone that sparkled in the middle. She noticed that the stone was beautifully cut into a heart shape. The ribbon was made of such strange material that she had no doubt her father made it. It felt smooth as silk in her fingers but it was made of such tough material that she doubted it could ever be torn. There 

were writings all around the ribbon, in a different language. They looked more like strange symbols to her. Every symbol seemed to weave in and through the fabric very delicately. It was absolutely beautiful. She realized that the symbols were made out of white gold, which made them standout so exceptionally and the heart-shaped stone was held in place by white gold material.

The second item was a bracelet. It was pure white gold and had little green stones woven around the symbols that seemed to have been made with the same green stones. He must have melted them and put them into the bracelet. The Symbols were just as intricate and beautiful as the ones on the ribbon. Despite the fragile look, she could tell that anything trying to break this would have a very difficult time.

She put the bracelet on her wrist but realized there was no clasp. When the two ends met, they snapped together like magnets and sealed itself closed. She gasped and held out her wrist for Kaede to see. She nodded her head as if she were expecting it. The bracelet glowed a slight shade of green and Kagome felt a tingle go up her arm and fizzle away. The light flickered and went out. She felt as if she had done something wrong, Kaede held up the necklace.

Kagome took the necklace and noticed, once again, that it had no clasp. She went to put it on and it snapped together just as the bracelet had. She admired how beautiful it looked and how the stone seemed to glisten in the light.

She noticed that the necklace started to glow. She felt the tingle spread throughout her body. This time, instead of fizzling out, she saw the bracelet glow in response and shot out a tingling feeling of its own. After a few seconds the tingling subsided and the green glow seemed to seep inside of her skin. She looked at Kaede questioningly but she looked just as confused as she did.

"Do you know what just happened?" Kagome couldn't stop looking at her new jewelry.

"I am just as baffled as you. I have never seen such a thing. Your father did not tell me what it did or what it was meant for. It did seem as though it affected you in some way. Why don't you sit down and take a look." Kaede gestured over to an empty spot next to her. Kagome has a feeling she had suspected something like this because the spot was obviously just cleared before she arrived.

The girl sat down and got into position. She took a few breaths and closed her eyes. She felt Kaede's presence leave the room and was grateful for it, she felt exposed when she was doing this.

She calmed down her breathing and cleared her mind. She investigated herself. She noticed the black part of herself which she had come to recognize as her demon side. It seemed calmer than usual. Usually it was storming inside of herself, wanting to fight with her miko side but knowing that the miko side would overpower it. Her miko side left it alone, it was peaceful for the most part and accepted the demonic presence. However, the demon side just sat there now, and it looked like it had grown a bit. She could see little specks of dark green running through it. Slowly it started to spread. She noticed the bright pink side of her, clearly larger than her demon side. Usually it was calm, but today it seemed to be on edge. She watched as the black started to merge with the pink. At first the pink rebuked it.

She felt like she was watching a movie instead of watching what was going on inside of her mind. She had limited control of her powers from the inside. She knew she had to use a certain amount of energy to keep them at peace, but she never took notice anymore. Kaede had taught her everything about herself and she couldn't help but think she had gone though this herself. As far as she knew though, Kaede was just a miko.

She could tell that there was something different about her demon side. She usual felt the uneasiness of it but today there seemed to be acceptance. She could feel the power of her demon side but also a grudging acceptance, as if someone had persuaded it to cease fighting because it was useless and wouldn't amount to anything. She tried to sooth her miko side, which was always willing to listen.

She felt her miko side accept her presence and slowly allow itself to mingle with her demon side. Suddenly there was a burst of energy and the two collided with each other fiercely.

When it was over, there was just one huge power inside of her instead of two. Just before she opened her eyes because of the sudden clash of energy, she saw the huge mass of power. It was mainly a dark pink but it now had black merged throughout it. It seemed to be dancing with strength as the two colors mingled. She noticed the tiny hints of dark green that speckled the black, urging the two to coexist.

Her eyes flew wide open and she gasped for air. Kaede ran into the living room with a glass of water and tried to get the girl to breath normally. She stroked her back and noticed the sweat that covered her body.

Eventually Kagome calmed down and drank the water appreciatively. She looked up at Kaede and she gasped.

"Kagome, your eyes!" Kagome panicked, thinking something bad had happened. She ran to the bathroom and looked into the mirror.

"Oh my gosh." She whispered and stared at her reflection. Her once chocolate brown eyes were now the same exact color of her stone: dark green. She couldn't stop looking at them as Kaede walked up behind her. The girl started to chuckle and Kaede looked at her questioningly.

"My dad knew that I always liked to match. Now my new jewelry matches my eyes perfectly!" She laughed and Kaede couldn't help but join in.

"They are beautiful." Kaede looked at the girls eyes.

"I think so too, green is my favorite color. Do you think they will stay like that along with my powers? Father said that strange things might happen. He said it was probably because it is trying to merge with the wearer" Kaede just looked at her blankly. Kagome gasped, she hadn't told her what happened yet. They both sat down and Kagome explained what had happened. Kaede had to tell her to slow down a few times, she was talking a mile a minute. When she was done, she asked to take a shower. She felt gross with all of that sweat covering her body.

When she returned from her shower Kaede had thought over what she had told her.

"It seems to me that this 'force' that entered you is truly unique. All of that energy you unconsciously used to keep your powers from destroying each other, and in turn killing you, is now unneeded. That is why you have plenty of extra energy now. As for your eyes… I am not sure why they are this way, maybe a set back from the powers. I'm not sure if they will change back or stay this way. If I is just trying to merge with you, your eyes are probably going to stay this color."

Kagome nodded, it made sense… in a way. She loved the new color of her eyes and hoped they didn't change. She talked to Kaede for a little longer before realizing the time and speeding off to get changed into her work uniform.

When she arrived at her house, she talked with Shippo for a bit while she got ready. She was careful not to look anyone in the eyes, she didn't have time to explain right now.

"Inuyasha is coming over today right?" Sango yelled from the kitchen, busy making breakfast. She was still in her pajama's, as was Shippo.

"More guests!" Shippo's eyes instantly brightened, "Can I play too mommy!?"

"Well we have to do some work, but I promise that I will take some time to play, okay? I have to get to work." She kissed Shippo on the forehead and he enveloped her in a hug, kissing her cheek, "I love you Shippo."

"Love you too, mommy!" Kagome released her son and shouted her good-bye to Sango. She raced out the door and ran to work. She wasn't late, she just had a lot of energy. She stopped twice on her way, having a strange feeling that someone was after her. She figured she just felt weird because of everything that has happened already.

She arrived at work at the same time as Kouga.

"Hey Kags." The wolf demons said, his tail wagging slightly when he saw her.

"Hey Kouga!" She looked up at him and he gasped.

"Kagome, your eyes?" He stared at her dark green eyes in amazement.

"Listen Kouga, you are my best friend and I know that I can trust you so you have to promise not to tell anyone." Kouga nodded seriously and Kagome explained that her father had left her the bracelet and necklace she was currently wearing. She explained what happened and how her eyes had changed colors.

"Oh, well that's great Kags!" He gave her a hug that lasted a little too long and Kagome had to break after a bit, "It's good that your whole body can cooperate now! What are you going to tell people though? And are your eyes permanently this color now?"

"Well I am pretty shy around people so not many people will notice. If someone does, I'll simply say that they have always been green. I don't think anyone can know me well enough to absolutely know they were brown; besides a few people who I can trust with the truth." Kouga nodded in agreement. He knew that she had always been shy, especially after what happened to her parents, she seemed to have isolated herself. He was very happy when she had told him that she adopted Shippo. Of course he had known all about Shippo and he had even met him a few times.

"By the way, your eyes are very beautiful. I think they compliment you. It's also cool that it happens to be your favorite color." They walked inside together and talked a bit.

--

Back at Kagome's house Sango was drawing pictures with Shippo. They talked about nothing in general and sometimes Sango would sing a song and Shippo would join in. She ended up trying to teach him a song. He was very excited and wanted to learn it before Kagome got home so that he could sing her to sleep tonight. Sango had hugged him, not being able to believe how incredible adorable he was.

She looked at her cell phone to check the time, figuring that Kagome should be home soon. She was surprised to see that it was a little after four. Kagome should have been home at around 3:30, seeing as she started at around 8. She couldn't understand how she was able to wake up at six in the morning to go over Kaede's house for training, and then work afterwards. She seemed to have so much energy today too.

Sango looked up when she heard a knock on the door, and then she remembered that Inuyasha was supposed to come over. She looked over at Shippo and wasn't sure if she wanted to let that ingrate in. She didn't trust him and she wasn't exactly fond of him.

"Can I get the door!?" Shippo was about to get up but Sango stood and motioned for him to stay.

"Shhh…" She held up her finger to her lips and walked over to the door, contemplating whether or not she should even answer. Then again, if she didn't, Kagome would be the one to suffer and have to do the project on her own. Cursing under her breath, she opened the door half way.

"What." She glared at him and he glared back.

"Where is the wench?" he spit out and crossed his arms. Sango rolled her eyes and answered him. She told him that she was at work. He cursed, rather loudly and asked where she worked. Just to get him away, she decided to tell him.

"And where the fu-" Sango slammed the door in his face before he could finish. She didn't was Shippo to be subjected to that type of language. She walked over to the little kit and they resumed their song.

--

Inuysaha silently fumed as he tried to remember what restaurant that was. It took him awhile but he soon remembered going there. He knew it was expensive there because the food was very good and wondered what she did there.

_Probable just takes out the garbage. _He headed in the direction of the restaurant.

--

Kagome had just finished her last order and was punching out when she felt someone approaching her. He spun her around and began to dance a little. She laughed and joined in for a bit. Both of them laughing as he would twirl her around on occasion. They danced right out of the doors.

"What are you doing tonight?" Kouga asked her as he spun her one final time into him and gave her a hug before releasing her.

"Nothing!" She smiled, she missed Kouga, it had only been two weeks sense they hung out but it was two weeks too long for her, and then she remembered and her smile dropped, "Oh wait. I have a project that I have to do today with my partner. I am so sorry Kouga, I was really hoping we could do something."

"Oh." Kouga frowned for a second before perking back up, "Hey, it's okay. School is really important to you, I get that. Just promise me we can hang out tomorrow!?" He gave her the puppy dog eyes.

"Oh you know you don't have to give me that look. Of course we can hang out. Do you want to come over tomorrow after work? You can meet my new friend Sango, the one who lives with me now. And I'm sure Shippo would be happy to see you."

Kouga smiled and looked into her eyes and asked if there was something different about them. She just laughed and punched his arm playfully. He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.

"Kouga." The blushing girl took her hand back, "I told you, we are just friends. I love you, it's just that I love you more like a brother."

Kouga had expected that, instead he commented on her new clothes. She wore a teal v-neck ¾ sleeved shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. The clothes actually fit her, unlike her old ones, and showed off her curves. Kouga seemed to like them as he checked her out.

"Kouga!" She punched him again, a little harder this time. She blushed furiously and then thanked him, "It was Sango's idea."

"And a good idea it was." His eyes twinkled and she knew he was just playing with her. He came closer to her and held the stone of her necklace in his hands, "A heart."

Kagome just nodded her head. He knew how close she had been to her whole family, especially her dad. She was always daddy's little girl. He used his other hand to wipe the tear that ran down her face. He 

told her that he knew her dad well and knew that he would be so proud of her and of everything she has achieved. She smiled at him and truly felt a little better. His hand rubbed her arm comfortingly, in more of a friendly way, knowing this wasn't the time to press their relationship.

"Thanks Kouga, I really appreciate it. You'll always be my best _friend_." She emphasized the friend part and he just shrugged his shoulders and gave an innocent smile. Kagome looked to her left and saw someone heading towards them and that someone defiantly had dog ears. She gulped nervously and realized that she had gotten out of work a little late today. Kouga looked at what she was staring at and began to growl under his breath.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" the hanyou was pissed, beyond pissed actually. He had taken time out of his day to work on this project and he finds her here with a _wolf demon_.

Kouga dropped his arm from Kagome's and pushed her behind him, "Stay behind me."

"But Kouga I-" she tried to push past him but he wouldn't let her and she knew that she wasn't that strong, never mind strong enough to overcome Kouga without her powers.

"What do you want _dog_?" He glared at the dog demon as he approached them.

"Yo Wench, what are you doing here?" He looked over at the girl, ignoring the fuming demon in front of her.

She managed to wiggle her way around him and she stood beside him.

"My name is Kagome." She huffed and crossed her arms, "And for your information, I got out of work a little late today."

"It sure didn't look like you were working to me." He sent a venomous look at Kouga.

"Because I regularly hang out at the back of restaurants." She replied sarcastically.

"Keh." She had a point.

"Don't talk to my women like that!" Kouga clenched his fists at his side.

"And what are you going to do, _wolf_?" He smirked.

"STOP IT!" She stepped in between the two of them, "First off I am no one's _women_. Kouga, this Is Inuyasha, my partner for that project I just told you about. Inuyasha, this is Kouga, my _friend_."

They both continued to glare at each other above her head. She sighed and looked at Kouga.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Kouga stopped glaring at him and gazed affectionately at Kagome.

"You aren't actually friends with this mongrel, are you?" She just gave him a look and he sighed, "I'll see you tomorrow then Kags." He stooped down and kissed her forehead before turning away and 

disappearing in a puff of smoke that was kicked up from the ground. She turned towards the enraged demon and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?!" He caught up with her and they walked side-by-side.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, we are doing the project at my house." He just huffed and they walked in silence for little while before curiosity took over.

"So what is with you and that wolf thing." He made a face at the thought of him, "He seems very… attached to you."

"He was always like that, even when we were kids. We grew up together and instantly became best friends. He is just a little delusional sometimes." She glanced over at the hanyou, "Why are you so interested?"

"What? I'm not." He blushed and she laughed.

"Calm down, I won't tell Kouga that that you have a crush on him. He is single by the way." She winked at him and ran away.

"What!?" He yelled at her and began to chase her. He heard her laughing and noticed that she was gaining speed. He tried to speed up too, but she was faster than he would have ever thought.

_Damn, how is she so fast? _He heard her laughing like a maniac and he smiled. He used all of his strength and caught up to her. He knocked her down and they tumbled onto the grass. He landed on top of her and held down her arms. She continued to laugh.

"Oh you think that's funny? I'll give you something to laugh about!" He grinned and she gasped as he began to tickle her sides. She tried to throw him off of her, but he was too heavy.

"St-s-stop." She got out between laughs.

"Or what?" he grinned and she got desperate, she couldn't take it anymore. She sent a little jolt at him and he jumped off of her. She got up and brushed himself off as he glared playfully at her.

"If you keep that face on any longer it'll freeze that way." She laughed as he glared accusingly at her, "Hey I warned you, besides, it was just a little spark."

"Sure sure." They started walking again, "You are a lot faster then I though you would be."

He glanced at the girl next to him. The spark hadn't hurt, he just hadn't expected it and felt embarrassed. He quickly changed his assessment of her; she might just be a challenge if she had any more surprises.

"I was just kidding you know. But if you did like him like that, I don't judge here. You can tell me."

"What? I-of course- ugh." He sputtered as she laughed again, "I mean I don't like him, I like you. Well wait. Not you, I mean your type. Or rather not boys, I don't like boys, I like girls. Ugh." He threw up his arms in frustration.

"I see." She nodded her head and just stared at him, completely amused by his frustration, which he deserved after he attacked her like that.

"Not that I care if other people are like that. People can love whatever gender they want, just as long as no guys start hitting on me, ya know?" Kagome perked up at that.

"Reall? Most people are against anything like that."

"Yeah, well… Who am I to judge? Besides, it's not like people can choose who they fall in love with. You shouldn't base people upon who they date. It's like judging people just because they have demon and human blood, you can't control what you are or you can't control who you fall in love with." He blushed as he said this. He started to get uncomfortable about this topic. He thought of Kikyo, if he could have, he defiantly wouldn't have fallen in love with her. He was just glad that he came to his senses. He also thought of how people picked on him for something he couldn't help. He had sympathy for people like that. He looked over at Kagome, he thought she looked like Kikyo but soon realized that they were completely different. He didn't even think they looked that much alike. He looked into her eyes and was shocked. He thought they were brown like Kikyo's. He knew that he would have noticed the green eyes that stared back at him, they were beautiful and unique. He never saw someone with this shade of green eyes.

"Defiantly." Kagome nodded and dropped the topic, she could tell he was getting flustered over everything. She thought about what he said and couldn't believe he had said it. For being so big and bad, he sure did have a nice and sensitive side to him. She wondered if anyone had even bothered to check.

They were both lost in their thoughts and soon they turned onto the street that her house was on.

"So, do you live with Sango or…?"

"Oh, actually it was my house. I met Sango and she stayed over for a little. We decided it would be best if she just moved in. That way I can use her washer and dryer and she can help chip in for food. It has worked out pretty well, Sango is great." Kagome smiled at the thought of her friend.

"Keh, I beg to differ. She doesn't seem all that great to me." He scowled.

"Hey, don't talk bad about her!"

"Well she deserves it, that bi-" He started but Kagome cut him off.

"Don't you dare even call her that! Have you looked at yourself lately? You are much worse than she is. Half the school is even too afraid to look at you!" She yelled at him.

"Half? I'm pretty sure it's more than that."

"Oh that's helping your case!" They reached her house and she calmed down. He just put his hands in his pocket and was nonchalant about it, maybe even a little smug.

She walked inside and saw Sango in the living room doing some homework. Shippo saw her and dropped his crayons. He shuffled through some papers and picked one up before running over to her and jumping into her arms.

"Mommy! You're finally home, look at what I drew for you! It's our new family!" He proudly showed her a picture of herself, holding Shippo, and Sango standing next to her. They were all on the beach.

"Wow Shippo, did you draw that all on your own? It's very nice, thank you so much!" She kissed him on the cheek and he beamed. They walked in and Kagome sat on the couch, the little kit in her lap, "Are you hungry Shippo, I can make you something? How about you Sango?"

Inuyasha just stared at them, still standing in the doorway looking from the kit to Kagome.

"Yeah! Sango can't make food." He made a face a sango ruffled his hair and began to protest, "But it's true!"

Sango laughed and had to agree with him, food wasn't her strong point. Kagome laughed and noticed Inuyasha at the door.

"Well aren't you going to come in, or are you just going to stand there all day?" He cleared his head, closed the door, and walked over to the couch, "Shippo, this is Inuyasha. Inuyasha, this is my son Shippo."

Kagome placed Shippo on the couch and headed towards the kitchen, Inuyasha right behind her. Sango had noticed her eyes but Kagome just shot her a look that said we'll talk about this later.

_He doesn't look like her, but I guess the father could just be a full fox demon. I didn't think she would have a child, she is so young still! And look at her, she doesn't look like she's ever had a child. Heck, now that she is wearing clothes that aren't like huge bags on her, she has a pretty damn good figure!_

Kagome snapped her fingers in front of his face and he came back to reality. He checked her out and she blushed, asking him if he was hungry. He just nodded dumbly.

"So… Shippo?" He tried to ask in a subtly way about it, but he didn't want to seem rude.

"He is the best isn't he? He is probably one of the best things that has ever happened to me." She smiled contently, completely oblivious.

"So how old is he?" She answered five and he tried to do the mental math. Thirteen! He couldn't believe it. Could girls even get pregnant at that age? He made a face and was suddenly disgusted by the girl in front of him. It wasn't his life and he had no room to comment on her lifestyle. Instead he just walked back into the living room and left Kagome humming and making food.

"Hey Yasha, do you wanna color with me? Are you my mommy's friend? Are you a half-demon? Your ears are so cool." The little kit ran over to him and started to bounce around him, curious about their new guest.

"Keh." He didn't bother trying to answer all of his questions. He just sat down on the opposite side of the room. The side where Sango wasn't sitting at, she glared at him the whole time, just waiting for him to say something or do something wrong. He couldn't help but think that this whole 'family' was just weird.

Kagome finished cooking after a little bit and the whole house smelled delicious. It was a good thing she liked cooking because, between her house and her work, she cooked a lot. She smiled at Inuyasha and put the food on the kitchen table.

He had to admit that the food smelled pretty good. He smiled back and walked over. Shippo ran past him and he growled. Everyone sat down to eat and complimented Kagome on her cooking, Inuyasha even had to grunt in agreement.

"Well I hope you guys tell me when I cook something bad." She laughed, "I don't want to lose my job after all. Actually, this was a new recipe I was thinking of. So in a way, you guys are like my guinea pigs."

Shippo asked what she meant by that and she started to explain how scientists do experiments on them when Inuyasha interrupted.

"Wait, you actually cook at that restaurant?" he stared at her dumbfounded.

"Well yes, what did you think I do?"

"I don't know? Take out the garbage?" He glared at her and she glared back. After dinner Sango said she would clean up and so they borrowed Sango's laptop and looked up different topics for their project.

--

"Why not!? There is plenty of information about it and it fits in with the class." Kagome yelled at Inuyasha. They had been searching for a topic for over an hour.

"Because your idea sucks, that's why!" she threw her hands up in the air and then handed him the laptop.

"I'm going out for some air!" she walked outside and sat down on the steps. A few minutes later she heard the door open and he sat down next to her.

"Look, we need to do something. I don't want to be here anymore then you want me here." She rolled her eyes at him.

"It's not that I don't want you here, I just don't understand why you need to argue about everything! You didn't even try to come up with any topics. If you don't want to help, you can at least pick one of the damn topics I come up with." She glared at him. She didn't understand what was going on through 

his little head. One second he is angry, another second he was tickling her and acting like they were actually friends, and the next he is impossible again!

"Whatever." They sat in silence for a few minutes. Kagome just closed her eyes and tried to calm down. Inuyasha just fumed. He didn't know why he was here, he could easily get a different partner. He thought about the girl next to him. He wondered why she was so… so…

And then he realized that she wasn't really being mean. She did just try and do the work, and even made him some food. He sighed and was about to say something but when he looked at her he saw her with her eyes closed. He listened and heard her even breathing. He realized that she was meditating. He just couldn't stop being surprised by her. It took amazing concentration to be able to truly meditate and do it right.

"Sango doesn't really hate you, ya know?" Her voice was calm and gentle as she spoke, "It's just that your rep. isn't the best and she gets worried. She just doesn't want you to hurt me. She's a good friend and a good person. I know that she would like you if you just let her get to know you."

"Keh. I don't care what she thinks." He snapped and mental berated himself. Why was he so touchy all the time?

"Oh. I just thought that maybe you were angry because she made you uncomfortable. I mean, I know you are generally angry but I know that this one isn't just an act."

"Because you know me so well." He rolled his eyes at her and turned his head.

"Well we've talked quite a bit in these last two weeks of school, if you think about it. The lunches, in between classes, _during_ class." She glared at him for that last part and he couldn't help but smile. It had become a game for him to bug her during class. He knew that she took her classes seriously and he loved to see her crinkle her nose at him and whisper back at him, trying not to yell during class, "I think I know the difference by now."

He just shrugged his shoulders. She decided to keep talking, she noticed how he seemed less tense and she guessed that meant he was a little less angry.

"You know, I met Shippo at a very dreadful time in my life. If it hadn't been for him, I don't know what I would have done. In a way, I had been his mother sense that night three years ago. He was only two and he needed someone. We both did, just in different ways. He needed someone to take care of him and love him, I needed someone to love and… distract me from certain things that were happening." She didn't know why she was telling him this, she just figured she didn't talk about Shippo that much, still not use to having a son, but she realized she wanted to talk about him. She really loved him a lot, "It was a perfect match, as if fate had brought us together."

"Wait. You aren't his real mother?" He looked over at her and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you serious? I am only eighteen here!" She started to giggle.

"Well what am I supposed to think, you didn't even tell me you had a son, and then I walk in and something starts to call you mommy." She stopped laughing, a smile still on her face, "So you adopted him?" he asked, genuinely interested now. He didn't know why but he felt a little better knowing that she hadn't conceived him with someone else. She nodded.

"His birth mother was really horrible. At first she was yelling all the time and she was just mean in general. Not feeding him or paying attention to him, that sort of stuff." He saw her hands clench into fist, "I was just helping Shippo at the time, she didn't know about me. I would visit him in secret. Feed him, read to him, do what a mother is supposed to do."

She looked up at the sky, remembering. It seemed so long ago.

"She started to drink. I came over one night and I heard shouting. At first I just thought that it was his mother and father yelling, like usual, but as I came closer I realized that only she was yelling. I instantly got scared and ran into the house. Shippo was lying on the floor crying. She threw a beer bottle at him, but I caught it before it hit him. I was so angry. I…" Her voice hardened as she recalled the past, "Anyways, I got him out of there. He was badly bruised, his arm was broken and he had a bad wound on his head. There was blood crusted all over him. I couldn't let him go back. I got the adoption papers and… convinced her to sign them. He's been mine every sense and neither of us could be any happier. Of course I hadn't planned on coming to college with a kid so I knew my budget was limited but still I just knew that I had to try." Her voice faded towards the end.

Inuyasha put his arm around the shaking girl. He couldn't believe that she had the guts to do that. So many people would have just walked away or just reported it and let him be handed over to the adoption agency. He felt such awe for the courageous girl next to him. It must be hard to suddenly have a five year old child to take care of, with no preparations at all and college right around the corner.

"You did the right thing." He whispered and she nodded. They sat in silence for a while. He had so many questions to ask but he knew that right now wasn't the right time. He wanted to know what happened to her that dreadful night and why her parents weren't helping her out right now. He inhaled her intoxicating scent and wondered what was so different about it. It seemed familiar and yet not at the same time. Kind of like a combination of smells. He wasn't sure, but he did like it.

He took his arm back and stood up, fully ready to ignore his sentimental moment. He wasn't like that, he had a rep. to maintain after all.

"So that last topic you mentioned wasn't horrible I guess." She stood up and gave a little smile. They walked back inside and finally settled on a topic. They wrote the introduction for school and made an outline, regardless of the dog demon's complaints. Technically they didn't need an outline, but Kagome had insisted. She could be quite manipulative when she wanted to be, one second he was arguing and the next he was helping her!

After work she made some tea and they talked for a little while.

"So how did you get so fast?" He eyed her skeptically.

"That's just one of my little secrets. I'm a lot tougher then I look. I'll have to show you sometime soon." She challenged and he was ready to go right then and there but it was getting late.

"How about tomorrow?" His eyes lit up, he had never fought a miko before. "Not that we'll need long. I'll beat you no problem."

"You don't know what kind of training I had, you might want to take that back." She said and they headed outside, "I have work in the morning tomorrow and then Kouga is coming over, so I don't think I'll have much time. But you can come over later in the day, I'm sure it won't take me that long to finish you."

"You're on! I'll take on that wimpy wolf after you." He growled at the mention of her 'friend'.

"You don't even know him, how could you not like him already?" She crossed her arms and pouted at him. He couldn't help but chuckle.

A few minutes later they said their good-byes. She looked around the house, thinking she heard something in the bushes. She saw a squirrel run out in front of her and sighed, why hs she felt do wound up lately?

It was only seven thirty but she still had to get Shippo ready for bed, and of course she wanted to spend some time with him before hand. She was also hoping to talk to Sango for a bit. Not to mention that she had work in the morning, although she didn't look tired at all and she wasn't. She just felt like she should be because of her long day. She actually felt like she could stay up all night.

Seeing as Sango didn't have work in the morning, she did work-study with the school, she had a pretty good feeling they would be up quite late. She was happy to finally have a friend that was a girl and her age to talk to. She hoped that ice cream and movies would be involved, Sango did bring over the T.V. from her room and some movies, they just hadn't set anything up yet.

She was excited about tomorrow, she secretly hoped that she could get Inuyasha and Kouga to be friends; she knew that if they just got over whatever was wrong with their male ego that they would be good friends.

A/N- I liked this chapter a lot more than the other. The other one really just help set this one up. I hoped you liked it. Next time we'll figure out what those little pieces of jewelry have up there metaphorical sleeves! Don't forget to review!!

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

P.S. I am sry about the late update, my online wasn't working so I had to bring my laptop over to a friend's house and hope that it worked there. Luckily it did and I was able to post. At least you get two this time!  review!


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